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Head of Naftohaz: Europe must become independent of Russian gas and oil
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
"Europe must become independent of Russian gas and oil," he says in an interview published on Saturday in the German newspaper "Handelsblatt" president of the Ukrainian state-owned Naftohaz concern Yuri Witrenko. "It is high time to put more pressure on Vladimir Putin," he adds.
Despite the charges we have charged for the transit of Russian gas to the West, we have been standing in the position since 2014 that Europe must become independent of Russian gas and oil," stressed Naftohaz in an interview by German newspaper journalists together with the French newspaper "Les Echos", Spanish – "El Mundo" and Italian – "Corriere della Sera".
In 2021 Ukraine it received approximately $1.4 billion for gas transit, we would be able to give up this money if Europe stopped buying oil and gas from Russia; the war losses for us are far greater than the proceeds of the gas trade, it is impossible to compare that, says Witrenko.
"If EU countries cannot do without Russian gas and oil, they should at least use smart payment mechanisms such as trust accounts. Russia will not have access to this money until it withdraws its soldiers from Ukraine," she notes.
"It is high time to exert more pressure on Vladimir Putin. Some say that sanctions are already effective. But we can certainly see that Putin's behavior has not changed," Naftogazu emphasizes.
Witrenko also describes his experience of direct negotiations with Putin on gas supplies that he led a few years ago: "It is only possible to talk with him from the position of strength and power; it is very different from the style of negotiations in the West." According to Naftohaz chief Putin, "he is a tyrant, a thug who understands only strength; but at the same time he is rational in such behavior."
Witrenko also pointed out in his interview that the gas transmission and storage infrastructure in Ukraine did not suffer any damage despite the ongoing war activities of more than three weeks.
Written by Berenika Lemanczyk/PAP
