Friday, January 16, 2009

Sokolovsky: with its actions Gazprom risks bankruptcy

At his briefing President's Representative on Energy Security Bohdan Sokolovsky expressed opinion that by attempts to realize its ambition to monopolize European gas market with cutting off transit of gas through Ukraine, Russian Gazprom is risking bankruptcy.

According to him, cutting off supplies of Russian gas through Ukraine, given plans of Russia to spend enormous amounts of money on realization of domestic energy programs was irrational.

Beside that Bohdan Sokolovsky expressed opinion that such actions of Gazprom aim to gain ownership of a part of Ukrainian gas transit system. For that, he said, Russia has been trying to discredit Ukraine as gas transit country in front of Europe by for instance accusing it of stealing gas. However such thing would never happen because our country has declared many times before that Ukrainian gas transit system is no subject to privatization