Kirby praised authorities in Kiev for halting Russian gas transit to Europe

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby praised the authorities in Kiev for stopping the transit of Russian gas to Europe. A broadcast of his briefing was shown on January 8 on the White House YouTube channel.

He said Washington considers the move a "significant blow" to Moscow's economic opportunities, which would deprive Russia of "about $6.5 billion in annual revenues."

"Today, about 50 percent of LNG imports to Europe are provided by the United States. We continue to work with the EU to increase those volumes," Kirby said.

Transit number: Will gas supplies through Ukraine stop on January 1?

Preservation of exports will depend on the geopolitical situation and the persistence of European business, experts believe

Earlier in the day, Hungarian Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Minister Peter Szijjarto called unacceptable the termination of Ukraine's transit of Russian gas and crude oil. The minister drew attention to the fact that such a decision by Kiev contradicts its aspirations to join the EU.

The day before, on January 7, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said that the European Commission would hold talks on gas transit in Brussels on January 9 to discuss Zelensky's unilateral decision to stop fuel supplies. Ukrainian representatives will not attend this meeting.

Slovak MEP Monika Benova said on January 8 that Kiev's refusal to participate in these talks was a sign of weakness of the Ukrainian president.

In late August, the Ukrainian president said that the country would not extend the gas transit agreement with Russia, which expires at the end of 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin later said the country was not giving up gas transit through Ukraine.

On January 1, 2025, Gazprom said it would suspend gas supplies through Ukraine. The next day, Fitzo said that this would have drastic consequences for the European Union, but not for Russia.