KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Ukraine wants answers from Russia regarding whether the Nord Stream gas pipeline would affect its national gas transit system, an official said.
The Nord Stream natural gas pipeline consortium started pumping so-called buffer gas through the first line of the twin pipeline through the Baltic Sea to Germany last week.
Ukraine is trying to negotiate a better deal for the natural gas it gets from Russia. Pipelines in Ukraine are used to transit about 80 percent of the natural gas Russia sends to Europe. Acrimony between the countries, however, makes the route politically sensitive.
A spokesman for Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying that Kiev needs "a clear answer" about Moscow's intentions for the Ukrainian gas transit system.
"If Ukraine stops the operation of its gas transit system, this is a very high risk factor for Europe, so Ukraine wants to hear from Europe what the plans for the Ukrainian gas transit route are," the spokesman added.
Stratfor, a Texas intelligence company, said that with Nord Stream operational, Ukraine loses much of its bargaining strength. Kiev, which is prosecuting former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for corruption related to a 2009 gas deal, is trying to press for a better energy relationship with its former patrons in the Kremlin.
