KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Gas transportation systems in Ukraine will always be under the authority of Kiev, said Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko.
Kiev and Moscow in 2000 entered into negotiations to create a transport consortium with European partners to upgrade the Soviet-era gas transit network in Ukraine, one of the largest in Europe.
That project was put on hold when Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko came to power during the Orange Revolution in 2004. Kiev has balked on the effort since.
Tymoshenko campaigned that she would keep gas transit systems under Kiev's control if elected president, Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti reports.
"The gas transportation system is Ukraine's strategic facility, which will never and under no circumstances be transferred to a third party and will always belong to our state," she said.
Ukrainians head to the polls Sunday to pick their next president. Pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovich, who lost during the Orange Revolution, is the leading candidate, though he could head to a second round against Tymoshenko on Feb. 7 if he fails to secure a majority.
Ukraine transports roughly 80 percent of all Russian gas bound for Europe. A January 2009 gas row between Yushchenko's Kiev and Moscow prompted Russian gas giant Gazprom to cut gas supplies for weeks, leaving European customers in the cold.
