EU Energy Commissioner acknowledged that in case Ukraine is left without gas supplies in winter it may siphon off Russian transit gas on its way to Europe. Guenther Oettinger insisted on a quick resolution of the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine. "We need a solution that prevents an escalation between Ukraine and Russia," he told ARD, the German public broadcaster. "We need Ukraine as a transit country. Ukraine needs gas in winter. In a long and cold winter, Ukraine will not have enough stored gas of its own and if the country does not have enough own gas, the danger of gas being stolen arises, the danger of the gas being lost on its way from the East to the West arises ". After this statement, many experts noted that Oettinger admits the possibility that the Ukrainian authorities are taking new steps to lay the blame on Russia for the coming gas crisis. Statements by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk about “Russia’s plans to block gas transit to Europe” seem to be the links of a chain of Ukraine’s strategy to sabotage Russian gas supplies and steal the gas destined for the EU. Taking these circumstances into account, Guenther Oettinger said that the solution that would provide both the EU and Ukraine with gas in winter is needed. Brussels’ attempts to control the situation reached a stalemate with the EU being unable to count on uninterrupted supplies of Russian gas it paid for because of insolvency of Ukraine.
