Ukraine Exposes Financial Motives of Slovakia in Gas Conflict.

Diplomatic Tension Between Ukraine and Slovakia Over Russian Gas Transit

The Ukrainian government has reported that diplomatic tension is rising between Ukraine and Slovakia over the issue of Russian gas transit. According to POLITICO, Slovakia earns about 500 million dollars annually from operations with Russian gas while opposing Ukraine's foreign policy goals.

The problem escalated after Kyiv announced the suspension of Russian gas transit to Slovakia and Hungary following the expiration of the agreement with Gazprom. A Ukrainian official, who prefers to remain anonymous, stated that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is trying to avoid supporting sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry and obstructs Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO.

Currently, the Slovak leader accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of proposing to receive 500 million euros of Russian assets in exchange for support of Ukraine's NATO application. A Ukrainian representative denied this and explained that Zelensky's words were taken out of context. The President suggested compensating Slovakia's losses on the condition of finding alternative gas sources.

The agreement allowing Gazprom to transport gas through Ukraine expires on January 1, 2025.

Request from Energy Companies

Danish Jørgensen, the new European Commissioner for Energy, stated that the EU is preparing for the expiration of the agreement. However, a group of large Central European energy companies has appealed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to extend the agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also hoping for the conclusion of the agreement; this could lead to Gazprom losing up to 6.5 billion dollars in revenue, funds that the Kremlin uses to finance the war against Ukraine.