Šmihal told Fico that Kyiv will not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia when it expires

Ukraine's strategic goal is to deprive the Kremlin of profits from the sale of hydrocarbons that Moscow uses to finance the war, Schmihal said.

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Fico and Šmihal, Photo: Reuters
Fico and Šmihal, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal told his Slovak counterpart Robert Fitz that Kiev will not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia when it expires at the end of the year, which could increase tensions between Bratislava and Kiev.

"Ukraine reiterates that it will not continue the transit agreement with Russia after it expires," Shmihal said on Monday at a joint press conference with Fico in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine.

Ukraine's strategic goal is to deprive the Kremlin of profits from the sale of hydrocarbons that Moscow uses to finance the war, he said.

Shmihal said Kiev understood the "acute dependence" of some countries, including Slovakia, on Russian gas supplies, but said eventual diversification of supplies would overcome such problems.

He also said that Ukraine and Slovakia, which share a border of about 100 kilometers, agreed to establish an Eastern European energy hub using the resources of significant Ukrainian gas storages.

Fico praised Kyiv's continued commitment to using its transit systems after the expiration of the agreement with Russia.

"I welcome our discussion, which confirmed that you, like us, have an interest in the transit system you have on Ukrainian territory to continue to be used, when it comes to oil and gas," Fico said.

Slovakia, under the Russia-friendly Fico leadership, and Ukraine are at loggerheads over the transit of Russian oil and gas, the export of which is a major source of funding for Russia, which has been under Western sanctions since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

At the time Moscow launched the invasion, the EU was heavily dependent on Russia for has, but has since sought alternative supplies.

Most EU countries boycott Russian oil and gas imports, with the exception of a few, including Hungary and Slovakia.

An agreement has reportedly been reached to continue the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine, but gas supplies will be severely limited if Kiev fulfills its promise to end transit services in early 2025.

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