Kremlin: Russia interested in resuming gas transit through Ukraine

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia is interested in resuming gas transit through Ukraine, after the European Commission issued a statement explaining its intention to continue talks with Kiev on natural gas supplies to Europe.

Russian gas supplies via Ukraine were halted on January 1 after a transit agreement expired and Kiev refused to discuss renewing it due to Moscow’s ongoing war on it.

A number of countries, including Slovakia and Hungary, are seeking to pressure the European Union to intervene to resume gas supplies to them through a major pipeline.

Hungary said yesterday that it had received guarantees from the European Commission to protect its energy supplies, which it described as a prerequisite for Budapest to agree to renew European sanctions on Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media today: “It seems that Hungary has received some assurances from Brussels about resuming some negotiation process (with Ukraine on gas).”

Peskov added: “We are interested in selling our products because it is more beneficial for European buyers.”

Slovakia welcomed the European Commission’s statement on continuing talks with Ukraine on a possible renewal of the gas transit agreement via Ukraine, adding that it now sees the option of shipping gas from Azerbaijan as an option.

The EU and Ukraine had asked Azerbaijan to facilitate gas transit talks with Russia last year but those talks failed.

Russia continues to export natural gas to southern and central Europe via the TurkStream gas pipeline under the Black Sea.