Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Monday that Ukraine is willing to facilitate gas transit to Western Europe through its territory but firmly ruled out any extension of its existing agreement with Russia, which expires on 1 January 2025.
Ukraine’s decision to half transit of Russian gas to Europe was not welcomed in Hungary and Slovakia, who continued to buy Russian gas in large volumes despite nearly three years of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
In a conversation with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Shmyhal emphasized Ukraine’s commitment to ensuring energy security for Europe, particularly uninterrupted natural gas supply during winter months. However, he saud, Ukraine is ready to provide its transity capacities only for gas of other origin than Russian.
“If the European Commission officially approaches Ukraine about the transit of any gas other than Russian, we naturally will discuss it and are ready to reach an appropriate agreement,” Shmyhal said, noting that such arrangements would be based on energy security principles for both the EU and individual European nations.
The announcement comes as several European countries intensify their search for alternative gas supplies. Slovakia’s Economy Minister Denisa Sakova revealed that European countries and companies have a combined demand for approximately 15 billion cubic meters of Russian gas next year via Ukraine and are currently exploring new supply options.
Shmyhal highlighted that significant progress has been made in recent years with EU countries “to secure reliable gas supplies and prevent the use of any type of energy as a weapon” – a practice he noted Russia had employed for decades in its relations with neighboring countries and the EU.
During their discussion, the prime ministers also addressed increased cooperation in the electricity sector, with Shmyhal noting that 30% of Ukraine’s electricity imports last week came from Slovakia.
Some EU countries are considering securing supplies from Azerbaijan that could transit through Ukraine, though no agreements have been finalized. The EU has set a target to stop using Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
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