Dear Madam Chairman, dear deputies, ladies and gentlemen,

Foreign policy is continuation of internal policy. The chaos inside the country generates outside chaos. The need for containment of chaos under the Russian aggression of hybrid type against Ukraine is obvious. Energy factor affects both internal and external policies. It has passed more than 2.5 years after the Revolution of Dignity, but the country has no Energy Strategy. It should be finalized and adopted. The document should reflect the ways and means of ensuring the country's energy needs, of achieving its energy security and specify directions of the transition from energy wastefulness to economic and efficient energy consumption. It's essential to take into account the provisions of the current National Security Strategy, in particular p. 4.10 "Ensuring energy security", where certain priorities for ensuring energy security of Ukraine are clearly defined:

- diversification of sources and routes of energy supply, overcoming of dependence on Russia in energy supplies and technologies, development of renewable and nuclear energy...;

- creation of conditions for reliable energy supply and transit of energy resources through the territory of Ukraine, protection of energy infrastructure against terrorist threats;

- formation of a system of energy supply to national economy and society for a special period."

The strategic goal is bringing the country to the level of energy sustainability through utilization of domestic energy resources, minimization of energy imports, broad diversification of energy imports, and introduction of technological innovations. It is important to eliminate or minimize existing dependencies and to prevent the creation of new ones. Given this, it is necessary that the Verkhovna Rada and the Government of Ukraine adopted necessary legislative and regulatory legal acts aimed at reducing tax burden on gas production in order to stimulate its growth. Strategic objective shoud be through reducing import of gas from almost 45 billion cubic meters in 2011 to less than 10 billion cubic meters in this year to achieve zero in gas imports in 2020 and to eliminate gas dependence. This will create more room for maneuver in foreign policy and will save us not only from Eastern influences, but also from European ones, which contain alarming tendencies. It is advisable to develop and adopt a Law on Energy Security.

Ukraine is a member of the Energy Community, signed the Association Agreement with the EU, which is the basis of biparallel process "reforms – integration" in energy sector, on which the guidlines for both the Government and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are based. The essence of this process is that reforms of energy sector contribute to integration in energy space of the EU, and this integration contributes to domestic reforms. However, this does not mean mindless adherence to Brussels' requirements and recommendations. Our national interests should prevail. We have no right to ignore those negative trends which have become apparent in the EU and clearly surfaced in the recent decision of the European Commission on the OPAL gas pipeline, which contradicts to the spirit and provisions of the Association Agreement (violates Art. 274) and since this winter will cause losses for Ukraine through reducing transit revenues. Under circumstances of extremely uncertain processes in the EU, weakening of its institutions, especially of the EC, especially in energy sector, we should determine the depth of integration in order not to fall under – in case of continuation of negative trends in the EU – additional excessive dependencies.

Under the Russian aggression against Ukraine, having a powerful and extensive energy infrastructure in Ukraine, it is important to raise the issue of energy infrastructure protection and counteraction to hybrid threats. Consolidation of efforts with our NATO partners is very important for reaching these goals. In particular, at this stage Ukraine should join the work in the three NATO centres of excellence: on energy security, cyber security and strategic communications. Adequate funding must be provided for in the Draft of 2017 Budget.

Another important goal of foreign policy and diplomacy is to convince foreign partners on the need to strengthen international sanctions against Russia, and above all, in the sphere of energy trade, since the export of hydrocarbons is a nutrient source of Russian aggression, because provides the lion's share of budget revenues.

And finally. As it was already mentioned today, the list of Kremlin's prisoners has been expanding. Now experts-"saboteurs", my former colleagues from the Sebastopol Center "NOMOS" - Dmytro Shtyblykov and Oleksiy Bessarabov, were added to it. Together with Volodymyr Dudka they have been almost a month under arrest. We need to consolidate efforts both in Ukraine and with our foreign partners so that with joint efforts to strive for release of all Kremlin's prisoners. This issue must be raised at PACE winter session.

Thank you for your attention!