Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhaylo Podolyak said that, in addition to gas, Ukraine will stop transiting Russian oil from the new year.
He said this in an interview with Novyny.Live.
"In addition to gas, the Druzhba oil pipeline will also cease operations from 1 January 2025," Podolyak said.
He noted that some countries have been receiving Russian oil through this pipeline, including Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
However, Podolyak noted that according to the EU resolution, these countries must find ways to diversify their oil and stop transiting Russian oil through Ukraine. The same applies to gas.
Updated. Subsequently, according to WeUkraine, Mykhaylo Podolyak clarified that Ukraine has a fairly clear position on gas transit from Russia. However, the Ukrainian side is ready for a dialogue with European countries and companies that need such transit.
"Ukraine's position on transit is quite clear: no relations with Russia. However, if there are direct requests from European countries or European companies under existing agreements, Ukraine is ready to cooperate and solve problems," Podolyak said.
At the same time, the Presidential Office representative explained the situation with the Druzhba oil pipeline. According to him, Ukraine will fulfil its obligations with partners under previously concluded contracts until their completion.
"As for the Druzhba pipeline, the situation is as follows. We support the European Commission in its efforts to diversify oil supplies to some countries in the region in order to reduce or completely eliminate the presence of Russian oil. At the same time, Ukraine has fulfilled and will continue to fulfil its contractual obligations in full until the stipulated expiry date of such contracts. This is true for our bilateral relations with European countries. And, by the way, the recent positive visit of Naftogaz CEO Chernyshev to Slovakia once again confirms this," said Mykhaylo Podolyak.