"I think they could… Ukraine, if it would be better organized as a country, would need no gas from anybody… They [have] proved already they can live without Russian gas," Kopac told RIA Novosti, answering a question about Kiev's ability to get by without Russian gas in the future.
He added that Ukraine was a producer of gas and should the country be able to improve its energy efficiency, Kiev could become a gas exporter.
Kopac also added that Europe has no economic nor geostrategic need for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline.
"I do not see any economic need for this project. And geostrategically observed neither. For Europe, of course," Kopac told RIA Novosti, commenting on the planned construction of the Nord Stream-2.
He added that existing pipelines, including those that run through Ukraine, could cope with the task of transporting gas from Russia to the European Union.
In October 2015, Ukraine's energy company Naftogaz said that the country was ending the purchase of gas from Russia's energy giant Gazprom, and any decision to continue to import gas from this supplier would depend on pricing. The following month, Ukraine halted purchases of Russian gas, saying the price offered by its European partners was much lower than that offered by Moscow.
The Energy Community is an international organization that aims to extend the internal EU energy market to neighboring countries on the basis of a legally binding framework. Its objectives are attracting investment, creating an integrated energy market and enhancing the security of supply among others, according to the organization's website.
