BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Sefcovic said that the EU gas transportation system, especially in Central Europe, had been designed to be fully compatible with gas deliveries via Ukraine.
"If the aim is to gradually dry up the Ukrainian transit route, it is something which is not acceptable for the European Union because it would really change the gas balance in Europe, it would put in a very difficult situation countries in Central and South-East Europe" Sefcovic said.
In late June, the head of Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexey Miller, warned that the company did not intend to renew its transit contract with Ukraine after it would expire in 2019 if Ukraine offered unfavorable terms for the company.
"When you look at the construction and the proposals of this stream [through Turkey], there is one goal — how to make the Ukrainian transit route less relevant, or how to cut off supplies through Ukraine completely. Of course, this would have very negative consequences for energy security in Europe, because the Ukrainian transit route is very important, it is the biggest one, it's 140 billion cubic meters per year," Sefcovic told reporters.
