OREANDA-NEWS. January 20, 2009. Ukraine did not halt the transit of Russian gas to the European Union states and did not take it off unsanctioned. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko told a joint press conference with EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs.

“Ukraine, beginning from January 1 and till today, till the resumption of gas supply, did not take off a cubic meter of natural gas unsanctioned and we did not halt the transit of Russian gas to the European Union,” Yulia Tymoshenko emphasized.

Yulia Tymoshenko is confident that European experts in their conclusions would prove that Ukraine did not abuse its transit position and did not use the Russian natural gas for domestic needs.

The Premier stressed that Ukraine is transiting the Russian gas to the Europe states professionally and in necessary volumes for 17 years already, “Ukraine will remain a reliable partner of both Russia and EU in gas supplies”.

In his turn, EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs said that on the first days of 2009 the Naftogaz of Ukraine had very efficiently fulfilled its work on the Russian gas shipping to Europe. Andris Piebalgs also stressed that he has no facts testifying that Ukraine unsanctioned took off Russian gas, “I have no such facts about Ukraine’s unsanctioned taking off gas”.