Kiev has asked the U.S. and Germany to organize sanctions against Russia for a gas deal between Russia and Hungary, because the gas supplies won’t go through Ukraine. Yuri Vitrenko, head of Naftogaz of Ukraine, referred to the U.S.-German statement in July that they would react should Moscow allegedly use gas as a weapon. Vitrenko said that Russia’s Gazprom has reduced supplies of gas through Ukraine and demanded sanctions against Nord Stream 2, the submarine pipeline from Russia beneath the Baltic to Germany, to supply gas to the EU. The southern TurkStream pipeline is also now capable of sending gas to Hungary and Croatia, passing south of Ukraine (see below).
Izvestia reported the coincidence of the Ukrainian complaints with demands from “European parliamentarians” to investigate possible market manipulation by Gazprom, according to the TASS press review on Sept. 29. Ukraine should resolve all energy issues directly with Russia, and not make claims to European countries that cooperate with it in this area, the Russian State Duma commented to Izvestia, regarding the scandal between Kiev and Budapest over the gas supply contracts that Hungary signed with Gazprom for 15 years.
