Putin says he is ready to keep gas transit via Ukraine

"The question remains how much gas will be delivered [via Nord Stream 2]. Another question is how much gas will be delivered through Ukraine, and we are ready to keep the Ukrainian transit, how much gas our customers will need now and in the nearest future," Putin said, RBC reports.

Earlier, Angela Merkel stated that the role of Ukraine as a transit country should be preserved after construction of Nord Stream 2.

As a reminder, Nord Stream 2 is the project of gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine through the Baltic Sea. 51% of the shares belong to Gazprom. The Russian Federation wants to build two lines of the gas pipeline (up to 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year). Brussels and Berlin promise to guarantee the transit of gas through Ukraine even after Nord Stream 2 is constructed.

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