Ukraine not considering purchasing gas from Russia - Vitrenko

Ukraine is not considering the option of purchasing Russian natural gas and is not holding talks on this issue, Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

According to Ukrinform, he said this in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

"We are not considering such an option at all, and we are not holding any talks about it. That's where we have such a very clear position. In principle, we want Ukraine to start exporting gas, rather than importing it. We now produce about 20 billion cubic meters [of natural gas] per year, and the whole of Ukraine consumes about 30 billion cubic meters. Accordingly, we import 10 billion cubic meters. At the same time, if we look only at household consumers, we will see a slightly different situation," Vitrenko said.

He said that Ukraine should increase natural gas production so that it has more gas than all consumers need.

op