U.S. favors creating trilateral consortium to manage Ukrainian gas transport system
KYIV. Jan 20 (Interfax) - The U.S. favors creating a trilateral consortium for managing Ukraine's gas transport system, the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry said.
The U.S. Secretary of State's Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Ambassador Richard Morningstar expressed such a desire at the Kyiv conference 'Natural Gas and Ukraine's Energy Future' on Thursday.
There is sense in Ukrainian, Russian and European investors jointly playing a role in creating a secure, effective and transparent transit system. Ukraine, Russia and the European Union should do that, Morningstar said.
The U.S. welcomes efforts by Ukraine to modernize its gas transport system and believes that its long-term implementation would secure Ukraine's position as an important gas transporter to Europe, he said.
Ukraine has reached a turning point at which it has to acquire energy independence, Morningstar said.
In all of the 18 years that Morningstar has been visiting Ukraine, there has never been such an important time as now in the country's energy sector, he said. Ukraine is at a crossroads and needs to decide once and for all whether it will have energy independence, he said.
As reported, Ukraine is counting on reaching an agreement on creating a trilateral consortium for managing the country's gas transport system.
Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yury Boiko has said that Ukraine is not considering selling its gas transport system to Russia, including under the "Belarusian scenario."
Ukraine is proceeding from two principles in the framework of the negotiations for creating a trilateral consortium - securing guarantees for transit volumes of Russian gas to Europe and attracting investment from European international financial organizations for modernizing its gas transport system.