On Tuesday, October 5, Sergiy Makogon, Director General of Gas TSO of Ukraine, and Olga Bielkova, Director for Government and International Affairs, partook in a meeting of the NATO Political Committee on Energy Security and held bilateral meetings with representatives of NATO member states at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

The key issues discussed during the meetings were the Euro-Atlantic security challenges, in particular the construction of gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine and the use of natural gas as a tool for geopolitical manipulation, leading to energy markets vulnerability throughout the region.

Speaking at the meeting of the NATO Political Committee on Energy Security dedicated to “The use of energy as a weapon, the created gas crisis and Ukraine’s role in the European energy security protection” Sergiy Makogon stressed: “Ukraine has repeatedly experienced the use of gas as a hybrid geopolitical weapon. Today this phenomenon has become a pan-European problem, taking into account the current price situation in the gas markets and manipulations with supplies of blue fuel to the EU. What is happening in the energy sector is a threat not only to Ukraine, but to all the countries of Europe. The issue of reliability of gas supplies is an integral part of the transatlantic energy security. But, unfortunately, for now, we are witnessing how natural gas becomes an instrument of political influence. And we have to stop it.”

Sergiy Makogon also notes that the Ukrainian GTS has always been a reliable partner for Europe, and today GTSOU is ready to offer additional capacities for gas transportation to the EU, to contribute to solving the problem with gas shortages in energy markets.