Ukraine will not participate in Slovakia-EU working group on gas transit

Ukraine will not participate in the working group organized by the European Union (EU) and Slovakia to find a solution to the energy issue amid the cessation of gas transit from Russia through Ukrainian territory, a spokeswoman for the European Commission (EC), Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, has said at a briefing in Brussels on 10 January. This was announced by European Commission (EC) spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen at a briefing in Brussels on January 10.

"The high-level working group will be at a technical level, we expect it to start work as soon as possible, in the coming weeks. The group will include high-level officials from the EU and Slovakia," the EC's website noted.

However, the spokeswoman added that the EC will continue to maintain contacts with Kiev "at all levels".

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, on January 9, it became known that the European Commission and Slovakia will create a working group to find a solution in the energy sector against the background of the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out on the same day that the beneficiary of the suspension of transit through Ukraine was the USA, while European countries, on the contrary, were interested in receiving more competitive gas from Russia.

"Gazprom" announced the suspension of gas supplies through Ukraine on January 1.

At the end of August 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expired in May of the same year, 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.