Ukraine will guarantee "safe and constant" transit of gas across its territory to Europe, dpa cited Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko as saying today in the Serbian town of Novi Sad. Speaking at a summit of leaders from Central and South-Eastern Europe, Yushchenko made the guarantee without elaborating on how his country would accomplish this. In January 2009 in the continuation of a dispute between the Russian state gas company Gazprom and the state Ukrainian Gas Company, Ukraine cut off supplies of Russian gas to Europe, leaving millions of homes without heating supplies during subzero temperatures. At the summit, Yushchenko also called for the creation of a common concept for a gas market in Europe similar to the existing electricity market, the local Beta news agency reported. He added that it is also necessary to create an Euro-Asian transit corridor for gas and oil from the Caspian region to Europe. The two-day summit, largely dedicated to energy issues, began on Thursday.
