Kiev should justify economic expediency of gas transit via Ukraine – Gazprom

Gazprom has said that there will be no resources for transit through Ukraine in previous volumes, as Russia’s gas production recourse base is shifting northwards. The gas giant’s CEO, Aleksey Miller, was quoted as saying on Tuesday that transit for Ukraine in amount of 10-15 bcm annually may be preserved, but Kiev must justify its economic expediency. German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to consider the impact of a new Russian-German gas pipeline on Ukraine as plans progress. Merkel said she listened carefully to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s concerns over the Nord Stream 2 at a meeting in Berlin on Tuesday. She said Ukraine must retain a role in gas transit, adding that a Nord Stream 2 project “without having clarity about how things continue with the Ukrainian transit role is not possible,” AP reported.