Slovakia has been told by Kyiv that the gas transit deal will not be extended

The deal for Ukraine to send gas through Russia will not be renewed when it ends at the end of 2024, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Monday.

A Ukrainian source said that the talks, which took place in Uzhhorod in western Ukraine, were mostly about working together on infrastructure, making sure there is enough energy, and supporting Kyiv’s peace plan.

“Ukraine says again that it will not renew the transit agreement with Russia when it ends,” Shmyhal said at a news conference with 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 is a part of both NATO and the EU, and it shares a border with Ukraine. Slovakia is against Kyiv joining NATO, but it wants to keep oil and gas from Russia getting to the west through Ukraine.

This month, SPP, the Slovak government-owned company that buys gas, said it was still in talks to extend the time that gas can pass through Ukraine after Kyiv’s deal with Russian supplier Gazprom ends at the end of the year.

Shmyhal stated that Kyiv is aware of the “acute dependence” of some countries, like Slovakia, on the Russian gas supply, but is hoping that the sources of gas will gradually become more diverse.

The prime minister of Ukraine also said that the two countries had agreed to work together to build an energy hub in Eastern Europe that will use big gas storage facilities in Ukraine.

LITTLE RIDER

Along with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fico has been a strong opponent of Western military aid to Ukraine. He made a big deal out of stopping government-funded military aid to Ukraine while letting private supplies keep going.

He said again that he didn’t think there was a military way to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“The peace must last, and there must be guarantees of safety.” The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be maintained above all else. He said, “We get all of that.”

In talks with Ukraine’s government, he said, it was made clear that Kyiv still wants to use its gas and oil transit lines after the deal with Russia ends.

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