Ukraine is not going to prolong the transit settlement for Russian gasoline by its territory, set to run out on Dec. 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Dec. 19 throughout a press convention in Brussels.
The choice beforehand prompted issues from Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, and Austria, whose state-owned vitality firms known as for the continuation of gasoline transit by Ukraine in a joint declaration.
Zelensky mentioned that Ukraine wouldn’t enable Moscow to “earn extra billions” whereas persevering with its aggression towards Ukraine.
“We is not going to have interaction in extending the transit of Russian gasoline. We is not going to give (Russia) the chance to earn extra billions on our blood,” Zelensky mentioned.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing the problem throughout his annual press convention on the identical day, confirmed the tip of the contract, expressing confidence within the Russian state-owned vitality large Gazprom's means to endure the loss.
“This contract will now not exist. Every little thing is evident. We are going to survive, Gazprom will survive,” Putin mentioned.
Whereas the European Union has made efforts to cut back dependency on Russian fossil fuels following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many international locations, together with Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria, stay reliant on Russian gasoline.
The EU solely launched its first sanctions focusing on the Russian gasoline business, particularly liquefied pure gasoline (LNG), earlier this yr.
Following discussions with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal mentioned that Ukraine is open to negotiating gasoline transit agreements for non-Russian sources.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
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