Slovakia optimistic as EU renews gas talks with Ukraine
Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanář stated on Monday that Bratislava is pleased with the European Commission's announcement regarding talks with Kyiv about gas transfer and is hopeful for the resumption of discussions about transferring Azerbaijani resources through Ukraine.
"From the beginning, we have been in discussions with the Ukrainian government about the possibility of transporting gas other than Russian gas through Ukraine, so we perceive their willingness to engage in talks about such transit as a return to a solution we proposed, within which we discussed the transmission of gas, for example, from Azerbaijan," the statement by Blanář read.
The European Commission negotiates with Ukraine on gas transfer
Kyiv decided not to extend the agreement on the transit of Russian gas, which expired at the end of the year. Hungary and Slovakia considered this a threat to their energy security, and Bratislava intervened with the European Commission regarding this.
Following Prime Minister Robert Fico's visit on 9th January, the European Commission committed to engaging in talks with Ukraine and established a special working group including EU and Slovak government officials.
On Monday, after the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Hungary and Slovakia received the assurance that the European Commission will continue to negotiate with Ukraine regarding enabling gas transit through the country.
The European Commission's statement indicated that the Commission committed to requesting assurances from Ukraine regarding the maintenance of oil pipeline transmissions to the EU.
