Kremlin Says Russian Gas Deliveries to Europe via Ukraine Are Not Possible for Now

In brief

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russian gas deliveries to Europe through Ukraine are not possible for now.
• The remarks respond to a Wall Street Journal report on a US-backed plan to restore these flows as part of an energy truce talks before winter.
• The European Commission says the EU does not plan to resume Russian gas imports even after the war ends, because the ban is in current law.

Kremlin rules out near-term transit

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said restoring gas transit to Europe through Ukraine is currently impossible, in comments to TASS (Пяскоў назваў пакуль немагчымымі пастаўкі расійскага газу ў ЕС – Nasza Niwa) (У Кремлі заявили, що не зможуть імпортувати газ до Європи через Україну – Європейська правда). He said conditions on the ground made such plans unrealistic for now, and that it was hard to speak of resumed supplies in the near future.

What the Wall Street Journal reported

Peskov was responding to a Wall Street Journal report that US negotiators were trying to arrange a scheme to send Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines. According to the report, Washington supported restoring these flows as quickly as possible, as part of talks on an energy truce before winter.

Conditions and the EU position

Peskov said any future flows would depend on the wishes of buyers and sellers and on the sellers' capabilities. He added that the global gas market is much larger than the European one, although Europe is a premium market. The European Commission has said that even after the war against Ukraine ends, the EU does not plan to resume imports of Russian gas, because the ban is set in current law.

Background on frozen assets

The US has also proposed that European countries unfreeze part of Russian sovereign assets blocked after the full-scale invasion and transfer them to a financial structure under US control, with the aim of restarting peace talks.

Read also

• US Revives Plan to Restart Russian Gas Flows to Europe Through Ukraine