KYIV, Sept 20 – The European Commission believes that it is important to retain transit of Russian gas across Ukraine after 2019 and proposes to be a mediator in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on the issue, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Energy Union Maros Sefcovic has said.

"It is important for us to have a viable transit route through Ukraine after 2019. We think that commercial deals on gas transit expiring in 2019 should be prolonged," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.