Russia wants to keep its gas flowing to the European Union via a pipeline that runs through Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has said.
"As for Ukraine, we are not abandoning this transit, oddly enough. Why? Because we, and Gazprom, intend to fulfil all our obligations to our customers with whom we have long-term contracts," Mr Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in eastern Russia this morning.
But he added Moscow could not force Kyiv to maintain the transit agreement, which expires at the end of this year.
While the EU has broadly ditched Russian gas in an attempt to hamper Russia's war efforts, it hasn't weaned itself off completely.
Imports of pipeline gas have plummeted from over 40% in 2021 to about 8% in 2023, according to EU data, though the share is higher if liquefied natural gas is included.
Mr Putin said that Gazprom's main consumers in Europe did not seem to want the transit agreement to end, even though they provided military assistance to Ukraine.
The Soviet-era Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline brings gas from western Siberia via Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region, into Ukraine and then Slovakia, where it then divides towards Czechia and Austria.
The main remaining buyers are Slovakia, Austria and Hungary.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-war-news-putin-zelenskyy-latest-live-updates-12541713
of those three countries Austria has been luke warm in Ukrainian support ...but the other two countries quite the most unsupportive countries in Europe of Ukraine .......is that due to the gas and their need for it .....or is the gas still bought by them because russophilia whereas more ethcal countries have stopped it ,(or had it stopped for them) ??
