KIEV, March 23 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine will join the
treaty on the common European energy system soon, President
Viktor Yushchenko said Monday at an international investment
conference on modernization of Ukraine's gas pipeline network.
"Ukraine will soon join the treaty on a common European
energy space. I am convinced that its integral part will be the
whole Caspian-Black Sea-Baltic energy transit environment,"
Yushchenko said in Brussels.
After January's dispute between Ukraine and Russia that
saw gas deliveries to Europe suspended, European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU was interested in
uniting Europe's and Ukraine's energy systems.
Russia's transit disputes with its former Soviet neighbors
have raised concerns in Europe about being overly dependent on
Russia for energy supplies.
Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after
failing to reach a deal over debt and prices for 2009 in late
December, and later halted gas deliveries to Europe, saying
Ukraine was stealing transit gas. Kiev denied the accusation.
Yushchenko also said in Brussels that Ukraine plans to
install new gas measuring equipment and build new gas measuring
stations as part of the modernization of its gas transportation
system.
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