Fitzo rules out presence of Ukrainian side at EC talks on gas transit
Representatives of Ukraine will not attend the European Commission's (EC) negotiations on gas transit. This was announced by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo on January 7.
"I am sorry that Ukrainian representatives will not participate in this meeting again," he said in a video message published in the social network Facebook (owned by Meta, recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia).
He noted that the meeting will be held in Brussels on January 9, it will discuss the issue of the unilateral decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term of office expired on May 20, 2024) to stop gas transit to Europe through the territory of the state.
In late August 2024, the Ukrainian leader said that Ukraine would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin later said that the country was not giving up gas transit through Ukrainian territory.
On January 1, 2025, Gazprom said it would suspend gas supplies through Ukraine. The next day, Fitzo noted that this would have drastic consequences for the European Union, but not for Russia.
At the same time, a spokesman for the EC said that the organization is ready to stop gas transit because the European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to supply gas of non-Russian origin to Central and Eastern Europe via alternative routes.
At the same time, Greek businessman and managing director of the industrial and energy company Metlen Energy & Metals Evangelos Mytilineos said on 7 January that Ukraine's refusal to stop Russian gas transit would cost the EU €100bn.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
