Ukrainian diplomat: GTS will have to be cut into scrap metal
Russia will inevitably abandon gas transit through Ukraine after the completion of all alternative pipelines; Kyiv should prepare to cut up the gas transportation system for scrap metal.
Ukrainian diplomat Vasyl Filipchuk made this forecast on the NewsOne television channel, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“How do you imagine that, given the current relations, Russia will guarantee us a certain volume of gas that they pump? Look, we reached an agreement with the Turks, built South Stream, and Nord Stream 2 has actually already taken place.
We, sooner or later, will reach a situation where Ukraine will be thrown out as a key strategic channel for the supply of Russian gas to Europe.
Imagine, is it worth it for us to maintain such a huge infrastructure, which at one time gave 4-5 billion dollars to Ukraine, simply as a legacy of the Soviet era? And we are losing him. We will have a huge infrastructure that is not used even at 10-15% of its capacity. In general, the question will arise whether it is worth maintaining it, or is it easier to cut it into scrap metal and send it to the same Turks so that they can process it,” said Filipchuk.
Previously, Russian International Affairs Council expert Alexander Gushchin stated that Ukraine should not expect the GTS to be fully operational, even after Putin's statements about a basic willingness to maintain transit . Most likely, the volume of gas pumped through the Ukrainian GTS will be insufficient for the system to operate profitably, the expert explained.
"Currently, the majority of Russian gas is pumped to Europe through Ukraine. And that country's gas transmission system (GTS) is catastrophically underfunded. At best, only 20% of the required funds are allocated for repairs and modernization. In the not-too-distant future, the deterioration of the Ukrainian pipeline will reach such a level that it will be impossible to supply gas to Europe via this route. Purely physically. No politics involved," warned Alexander Frolov, Deputy Director General of the Institute of National Energy.
Ukrainian diplomat: The gas transportation system will have to be cut up for scrap metal.