The point of no-return has not been passed yet – President about the threat of renewal of energy dependence on Russia

“I emphasize that the point of no-return has not been passed yet. Despite the fact that we paid a very high price for our energy independence, because energy independence is a component of our state independence and our sovereignty,” President Poroshenko said during the program “Freedom of Speech” on ICTV channel.

According to him, the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred and the defenders on the frontline gave their lives to protect Ukraine’s independence.

“Today, there is an attempt to trade this independence. Why do they do it? They always lived that way. They went to Moscow, signed ambiguous documents that are now clear for most Ukrainians. After that, every November there was a Russian accusation that Ukraine is stealing gas. Everyone remembers that. It happened every year,” Petro Poroshenko reminded.

“Then Russia blocked gas supply every December as a reaction to its own accusations, and Ukraine looked in the eyes of the whole world as a country that was not worthy of confidence. In October 2015, when Putin blocked gas supply, I said that we would not allow gas to be used as a political weapon anymore. Gas will be a normal market commodity, and Ukraine will achieve energy independence,” he added.

According to the President, the previous prime ministers and ministers who are now going to Moscow and closely coordinate actions with each other, obliged Ukraine to buy 52 billion cubic meters of gas per year. “I want to remind once again that in 2017, Ukraine consumed 14 billion instead of 52 billion. In 2018, Ukraine consumed 10.5 billion. If we pass the point of no-return in 2019, Ukraine will become energy independent in 2021-2022. We will stop importing gas. This will be the result of our position on energy independence, energy efficiency,” he stressed.

The President emphasized that subsidy monetization, energy efficiency improvement, integration into the European energy system were aimed at this. “We will definitely achieve this. And they are frightened. They, Boyko and Medvedchuk, have already run to speak with Medvedev. They do not negotiate the release our servicemen, the withdrawal of occupation troops, the end of the war. They do not have other topics of negotiations with Russia, except for the purchase of gas. And they send messages from Moscow that they are ready to form a coalition between Boyko, Tymoshenko and others,” the President said.

This is precisely why these elections are so important. “Therefore, we will no longer allow Russia to decide on the fate of Ukraine. I emphasize that we are capable of protecting Ukrainian interests by ourselves,” the Head of State said.