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Ukraine says it needs EU energy support

BRUSSELS, March 20 (UPI) -- Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said Thursday his government needs European support to develop a secure natural gas transit network.

"In this very difficult time, we ... need and strongly appreciate the support of the Energy Community in our efforts to ensure stable gas supply and transit," he said in a statement from Brussels.

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Prodan met Thursday with Gunther Oettinger, the European Union's energy commissioner, to discuss energy policies in the EU. Ukraine holds the rotating presidency of the EU's Energy Community.

European consumers get about a quarter of their natural gas needs met by Russia, though most of those resources run through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine.

Ukraine and the EU are expected to sign free trade and association deals later this year. A November decision to suspend association deals with the EU led to the eventual ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Prodan vowed to put his country's policies more in step with those of the EU.

"We will develop Ukraine's energy sector and its reform in accordance with the Energy Community and European Union rules and principles," he said.

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