Executive Director of the Penta Center for Applied Political Studies Oleksandr Leonov predicts that in 2013 the pressure on Ukraine concerning its entry into the Customs Union and the matters related to the country's gas transportation system will increase.
“One can say that next year the pressure on Ukraine concerning its gas
transportation system and the entry into the Customs Union will increase,” he
said in Kyiv on Friday.
Leonov said that such a conclusion can be drawn from the results of the
EU-Russia summit, which was held on December 21 in St. Petersburg, and which
produced no decisions.
According to him, this summit produced no solution to the problem raised by
Russia concerning mitigation or elimination of the so-called energy protocol.
Leonov said Ukraine had very serious interest in this matter.
He noted that the effect of the 3rd Energy Package makes building the South
Stream meaningless. “Third countries should be given access to this pipeline, as
well as companies that will pump gas to Europe. This means that Russia, in fact,
will have to build facilities for its competitors at its own expense,” the
expert concluded.
