Russian, Ukrainian energy companies offer guarantees of uninterrupted gas flow to Europe

At three-party talks in Brussels, Russia’s Gazprom gas giant and Ukrainian national energy company Naftogaz have offered guarantees of uninterrupted gas transit to Europe, says a joint statement of European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

"The parties confirm the intention to fully implement the Winter Package," it said. "Naftogaz will pre-pay and order from Gazprom sufficient quantities of gas to ensure covering of all domestic consumption by Ukraine in March," they summed up the outcome of the trilateral talks.
Gazprom will deliver up to 114 million of cubic meters per day of pre-paid and ordered gas quantities to mutually agreed delivery points, the document said.
The document was voiced after the trilateral meeting EU-Ukraine-Russia, which involved the energy ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Alexander Novak and Vladimir Demchishin.
Alexander Novak said the parties had focused on three issues.
"The first one - to continue monitoring the implementation of the Winter Package until the end of March. Secondly, we discussed gas deliveries to certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions," Novak said.
Gas deliveries in summer period and amounts of gas to be pumped into underground storage facilities were also on the agenda, he said.

The minister said Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission had signed no documents. "We have agreements of October last year, nobody has cancelled them, they remain effective until the end of March," Novak added.
Supplies of Russian gas to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics (DPR and LPR) were outside the winter package, the Russian energy minister Novak told journalists on Monday after trilateral gas talks.
When asked whether Ukraine had agreed to pay for gas supplied to Donbas, Novak said that the sides "have failed to reach a final agreement, since the issue is rather debatable and complicated from the technical point of view."
A new trilateral meeting will possibly take place before the end of March.