Ukraine will not extend its gas transit agreement with Russia after it expires at the end of 2024, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Monday, Reuters reports.
The two held talks in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine and, according to a Ukrainian official, were focused on infrastructure cooperation, energy security and support for Kyiv’s peace plan.
“Ukraine once again says it will not continue the transit agreement with Russia after it expires,” Shmyhal told a news conference sitting alongside Fico.
“Ukraine’s strategic goal is to deprive the Kremlin of profits from the sale of hydrocarbons which the aggressor uses to finance the war.”
Slovakia, a member of NATO and the EU which shares a border with Ukraine, opposes Kyiv’s accession to NATO, but has a strong interest in maintaining the transit of oil and gas from Russia to the west via Ukraine.
Slovak state-owned gas buyer SPP said this month it was continuing negotiations to secure an extension of gas transit through Ukraine after Kyiv’s contract with Russian supplier Gazprom expires at the end of the year.
Shmyhal said that Kyiv understands the “acute dependence” of some states, including Slovakia on the Russian gas supply, but is counting on gradual diversification of delivery.
Ukraine’s prime minister also said the two countries had agreed on the creation of an Eastern European energy hub, which aims to utilise large Ukrainian gas storage facilities.