Moscow says Kyiv's refusal to extend gas transit deal with Russia will hit EU

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Kyiv's refusal to extend the agreement on gas transit with Russia after 2024 will hit the EU and Ukraine in the first turn, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on Friday.

"In case of non-extension of the transit agreement after 2024, Ukraine will strike at the EU countries that buy Russian gas, and at the same time, shoot itself in the foot, will lose the dividends from transit," Galuzin told Russia's state-run news agency TASS.

As of Friday, Moscow has not received any messages from Kyiv regarding this issue, he noted.

"Such a situation will have a negative impact on Europe's energy independence, but it will undoubtedly cause joy to Washington, which seeks its (Europe's) economic and political dependence and seeks to profit as much as possible from the Ukrainian crisis," Galuzin said.

Asked to assess the probability of non-extension of the gas transit agreement, Galuzin said Kyiv is ready "to take any steps to harm Russia, even if Ukraine and other countries suffer from it."

The Russian energy company Gazprom currently supplies gas to Europe through Ukraine's territory and pays $32 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas transfer, he noted.

Considering the amount of supplied fuel -- 65 billion cubic meters in 2019 and 40 billion in the following years -- Russia pays Ukraine $1.3 billion per year, he noted.

On Wednesday, Gerhard Roiss, the former head of Austrian oil and gas company OMV, said, referring to a conversation with Ukraine's deputy energy minister, that Kyiv intends to implement the agreement until 2024, but will not extend it.