President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasised that Ukraine will not continue to transit Russian gas.
He said this at a press conference in Brussels.
‘We will not continue the transit of Russian gas. We will not give them the opportunity to earn additional billions on our blood,’ Zelenskyy said.
He noted that any country in the world that can get something cheap from Russia will eventually become dependent on the Russian Federation.
‘That is why we will not transit Russian gas,’ Zelenskyy said.
He said that in a conversation with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, he said that if it was not Russian gas, but from another country, Ukraine was ready to consider such an option.
- The transit of Russian gas from Russia to the European Union through Ukrainian territory will stop early next year: On 1 January, the five-year contract between Natfogaz and Gazprom will expire. The agreement could have been extended for another 10 years, but Ukraine will not do so because of the full-scale war. Read more about this topic in Strange Schemes: Who's Behind the Attempts to Extend Russian Gas Transit.
- Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has previously said that Ukraine is not going to continue gas transit through the Druzhba pipeline. The Association Agreement stipulates Ukraine's obligation to supply gas and oil to the EU. Ukraine is ready to implement the Association Agreement, but it is not ready to cooperate with Russia. Slovakia, in particular, has been receiving gas from Russia in this way. Hungary also continues to buy Russian gas.