Russia and Ukraine have signed a landmark gas transit contract to supply Europe. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom and the Ukrainian energy supplier Naftogaz signed the agreement on Monday evening after days of negotiations. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj said on Facebook. Gazprom boss Alexei Miller also confirmed the signing, as several Russian news agencies unanimously reported.
It is the first agreement between Kiev and Moscow after more than five years of total confrontation in the Ukraine conflict. The transit contract for the secure supply of Europe, especially Germany, is valid for five years. It was signed almost at the last moment because the current ten-year contract expires on Tuesday.
Russian media recently criticized that Russia was making too many concessions in Ukraine's new treaty. Gazprom transferred $ 2.9 billion to Naftogaz. Ukraine welcomed this. The money gives the chronically clammy country more social-political scope. The billions are intended to settle claims from several legal disputes. In return, according to Russian information, Ukraine waived claims against Russia in the double-digit billions.
John MacDougall / AFP
Agreement in the gas dispute: Russia's Minister of Energy Novak (center) and his Ukrainian colleague Orzhel at a press conference in Berlin (archive photo)
Russia and Ukraine had already announced the agreement through the mediation of the EU and Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) on December 19. The transit quantities will in future be significantly lower than in the past.
Transit volume lower due to Nord Stream 2
Ukraine would have liked to have the largest possible transit volume because that would have meant more income from the transit fees for the financially weak country. Instead of around 90 billion cubic meters a year, in 2020 only 65 billion Russian gas are to be pumped through Ukraine to Europe. From 2021 to 2024, 40 billion cubic meters of gas are planned for transit each year. Russia plans to use the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which has been paralyzed by US sanctions, for direct deliveries to Germany. Therefore, the amount of transit through Ukraine will be lower in the future.
US sanctions had stopped the Nord Stream project because the Swiss company Allseas pulled its special ships out of fear of punishment. In order to lay the tubes on the bottom of the Baltic Sea, such ships are necessary. However, Russia has since declared that it has its own ships to complete the construction of Nord Stream 2. According to the construction consortium, 160 kilometers are still missing from the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany.
The United States justifies its action against Nord Stream 2 by protecting energy security in Europe. They warn of excessive dependence on Russian gas. In addition to Ukraine, several EU countries are against the pipeline. The US, on the other hand, is criticized for wanting to sell its own, expensive, produced liquefied gas in Europe.