“The European Commission does not confirm or deny the meeting scheduled for January 7 regarding the termination of gas transit from the Russian Federation through the territory of Ukraine”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
RFE/RL reached out to the Ministry of Energy on January 6 for comment on the matter and will publish a response when it receives it.
“In this regard, we can only say that the European Commission will continue to be in touch with the most affected member states, as well as Ukraine and, of course, Moldova… to monitor and be prepared for the consequences of the conclusion of this agreement (about the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine – ed.) and ensure stable supplies for everyone,” European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said in response to RFE/RL’s questions about the consultations.
The representative of the European Commission assured that this authority in the EU is in contact “at the technical and political levels with all those concerned.”
“If there are any announcements, we will use the usual channels to inform everyone,” Itkonen summarized.
On January 1, Ukraine stopped the transportation of Russian natural gas through its territory (illustrative photo: a worker at a gas compressor station in the village of Mryn, 2015)
Ukraine stopped the transportation of Russian natural gas through its territory on January 1 at 07:00 “in the interests of national security”.
The main European importers of Russian gas, Slovakia and Austria, have already secured alternative supply routes, although Fico said there would be “dramatic consequences” for the entire European Union, demanding the resumption of transit. If this does not happen, the Slovak prime minister did not rule out stopping the export of electricity to Ukraine and reducing aid to Ukrainian refugees, of whom there are about 130,000 in Slovakia.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in turn, suggested that Robert Fico, who was recently hosted by Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, “has been instructed to open a second energy front against Ukraine.”
Measures in response to the stoppage of Russian gas transit through the territory of Ukraine, the Slovak government, as claimed by Fico, should have been discussed after the meeting in Brussels, scheduled for January 7 and, accordingly, postponed for an unspecified date.