During the Normandy format talks, President Zelensky must get a deal on speeding-up the peace process and a new contract between Ukraine and Russia on sales and transit of natural gas, MP Serhiy Lovochkin told reporters on the sidelines of the parliament on Thursday, Dec. 5.

“The talks about the ‘red lines’ and capitulation are just political gambling. The capitulation will be if the president doesn’t get two deals during the Normandy format talks: acceleration of the peace process and a new contract between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on sales and transit of natural gas across our territory,” Lovochkin said.

He added that if Ukraine loses its status of transporter for Russian hydrocarbons to Europe, the government will no longer be able to lower utility rates for the population.

“If we lose the strategic significance of our gas transmission network, we will also lose a chance to lower the heating bills for every user. This is the real capitulation. The rest of the talks are just political gambling and attempts to prevent President Zelensky from keeping up with his campaign promises and settling peace in Ukraine,” the MP said.

As reported, the Normandy format meeting is planned for Dec. 9, 2019. Serhiy Lovochkin stated earlier that that the Paris talks between presidents of Ukraine, France, Russia, and Germany is a step to peace in Ukraine.