On Monday 18 November, Russian gas company Gazprom announced that it had sent its Ukrainian counterpart, Naftogaz, a formal proposal to conclude a one-year agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukrainian territory, either by extending the current contract or by establishing a new agreement.
This proposal is subject to certain preconditions. Before an agreement can be reached, Gazprom has requested that both companies (Naftogaz and Gazprom) waive any reciprocal claims under international arbitration and that all legal proceedings underway be terminated. In addition, the decision of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine to impose a fine on Gazprom in respect of abuse of a dominant position, should be annulled. Finally, the Russian company has requested that Naftogaz withdraw its request to the European Commission that the latter open an investigation into the company.
“In addition, Gazprom expects to hear from its Ukrainian counterpart on whether the latter is willing to purchase Russian gas directly in the period from 2020 onwards”, according to the statement issued by the Russian company.
According to Gazprom, copies of the official proposal have also been sent to the Ukrainian Minister of Energy, Oleksiy Orzhel, and the Vice-President of the European Commission for the Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič.
While the latest trilateral negotiations (between Russia, the EU and Ukraine) have not made any progress (see EUROPE 12358/8), there remains very little time left for the three parties to reach an agreement.
The current contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz is set to expire at the end of 2019, raising the risk that, in the absence of an agreement by that point, the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine will be disrupted. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)