After a meeting with Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said that negotiations on the continuation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine could only begin after Russia withdraws its troops from Ukrainian territory.


According to her, the transit contract expires in December, and the first negotiations should begin if Russian troops are withdrawn.


Simson also recalled the existing gas pipelines that Europe uses to get gas from Russia through Ukraine and Turkey, and expressed the need to find alternative sources of supply for countries that receive gas from Ukraine.