President Vladimir Putin told a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok that Europe - Russia's main gas consumer - does not seem to want Ukraine to maintain gas transit.
"Currently, Ukraine refuses to transit Russian gas . This means that the amount of gas supplied to Europe will decrease. Russian gas will flow through other routes, namely through TurkStream (Turkish Stream), possibly partly through Blue Stream (Blue Stream) to Turkey," Putin noted.
The Russian leader said that Russian gas supplies through these pipelines, along with gas through Ukraine, will create favorable conditions for energy stability in Europe.
"However, this is their choice. I do not fully know how this choice will affect them," the Russian President added.
Mr. Putin noted that transit is one of the mandatory factors to be able to supply Russian gas to Europe.
"There is a transit contract, which expires on December 31. However, if Ukraine refuses to transit, we cannot force it," Putin said.
