KIEV, January 19. /TASS/. Ukraine will need no Russian gas in a span of two years, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday.

“I am fully convinced that in two years we will not need gas from Russia,” Ukraine’s news agency Ukrinform quoted him as saying at the Institute of Europe at the University of Zurich. In his words, it would be a major factor of Ukraine’s energy security.

Overnight from October 30 to October 31, the three-party consultations between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union in Brussels yielded agreements on resuming Russian gas supplies to Ukrainian consumers, on guarantees of gas transit to European Union countries and on partial repayment of Ukraine’s gas debts. On November 4, Ukraine’s energy operator Naftogaz said it had transferred to Russia’s Gazprom a first tranche of $1.45 billion as payment for its gas debts.

Overnight to December 6, Naftogaz said it had made an advance payment for gas supplies in December and Gazprom resumed pumping gas to Ukraine from December 9. On December 24, Gazprom said it had received another tranche of $1.65 billion from Naftogaz to ensure gas supplies in January.