OREANDA-NEWS. Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said that the transition of Ukraine to European legislation entails a number of problems that impede the signing of the agreement on gas transit through the territory of Ukraine.

He noted that Gazprom, according with the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had already submitted an official proposal to Kiev to conclude a new gas transit contract or extend the existing one.

“An independent gas transportation operator should be created in Ukraine, which must be certified. But certification of this company has not yet been carried out. And applications for the reservation of transit capacities must be submitted at predetermined dates,” Miller said, and his words were quoted by the Kremlin official website. The top manager emphasized that this problem needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

The day before, Putin spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Kremlin’s press service, the heads of state discussed, inter alia, the extension of transit and the resumption of direct deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine. Later, Zelensky, commenting on the conversation with Putin, stated that he considers the signing of a new long-term gas agreement to be a priority.

On November 26, the Russian president discussed the interaction of Moscow and Kiev in the energy sector with Miller and the Minister of Energy Alexander Novak.

The existing contracts of Russia and Ukraine for the transit and supply of gas expire at the end of the year. Moscow, Kiev and the European Commission are holding trilateral consultations on the continuation of supplies, but there is still no result.