(Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said any new deal for transporting natural gas through Ukraine will be challenging.
“There is no contract, and it is impossible to conclude it in three to four days,” Putin said Thursday in a news conference near St. Petersburg.
Various proposals would allow Hungary, Slovakia, Turkey or Azerbaijan to take over control of the gas that’s shipped through Ukraine, Putin said. Each would be difficult and require a lot of work because Gazprom PJSC has long-term contracts that are hard to change, he said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy indicated earlier this month that his country won’t allow Russian-origin gas to be transported through its borders as long as the war continues without assurances that the Kremlin won’t benefit financially.
The existing contract between Russia and Ukraine on gas transit expires this month. Countries including Slovakia rely heavily on Gazprom to meet demand for natural gas, even as much of Europe weans itself from Russian piped gas.
Separately, Putin said, a lawsuit from Ukraine’s Naftogaz alleging Gazprom hasn’t fully paid for transit services is another barrier for a quick deal. Naftogaz filed the claim in Switzerland in 2022.
“Let the claim be withdrawn from the court,” he said.
Putin indicated that Russia may consider other routes and is ready to start to supply gas to Europe via Poland immediately if the Warsaw government allows it.
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