Ensuring Ukraine remains a gas transit route is key to talks between Moscow and Brussels on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would bypass Ukraine and give Russia another direct supply route to Europe, European Commission Vice President for Energy, Maros Sefcovic, said.
"Ukraine is going through a difficult situation and the EU is trying to help it as much as possible ... Gas transit is of vital importance for Ukraine, that's what all member states agreed upon," Reuters cited him as saying.
"The starting point of the discussion is how to make sure Ukraine keeps the gas transit after its contract expires in 2019, how to make sure that tariff fees are set in a transparent way and the transit protocol is in line with EU's best legal tradition," he said.
