Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday that a deal allowing Russian gas to transit through his country would not be extended beyond the end of the year, with some European countries intensifying their search for supplies.
Shmyhal, writing on messaging app Telegram after speaking with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, said Ukraine is willing to discuss gas transit of any origin except Russian.
“In this sense, if it is not Russian, we will naturally discuss the matter and be ready to reach an appropriate agreement,” said Shmyhal.
“I emphasized that Ukraine’s agreement with the agreement ends on January 1, 2025 and will not be extended.”
Shmyhal said that a lot had already been done last year to ensure a sufficient supply of energy, especially gas, to EU countries.
Ukraine, in a 33-month war with Russia, has said for months that the gas transit contract would be unlikely to be extended.
Slovakia and other countries that receive gas from Russia, transported through pipelines in Ukraine, are in talks to try to prevent those flows from stopping when the deal ends.
Before the conversation between the two prime ministers, Fico had said that maintaining gas transit is not just a bilateral issue for Ukraine’s neighbors, but
Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova had said in Brussels that European countries and companies have a combined demand for around 15 billion cubic meters of Russian gas next year via Ukraine and were in talks to secure new supplies.
