Ukraine will no longer allow the transit of Russian gas through the country's territory after the end of this year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday after meeting with leaders of the European Union in Brussels,
Euronews reports.
The ban, he added, will apply to any gas flow "coming from Russia" to avoid the risk of having Russian gas sold to Europe under the guise of Azerbaijan-made gas.
"We're not going to extend the transit of Russian gas," Zelenskyy told reporters.
"We won't allow them to earn additional billions on our blood. And any country in the world that can get something cheap from Russia will eventually become dependent on Russia – whether it happens in one month or one year. That's their policy."
The statement is set to go down badly with Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, a landlocked country that remains highly dependent on Russia's pipeline gas.
Slovakia imports three billion cubic metres from Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, every year, covering most of its domestic demand.
A major transit agreement between Ukraine and Gazprom, from which Kyiv earns constant revenue, is set to expire at the end of this year. The agreement accounts for half of Russia's pipeline gas exports to the EU, according to Bruegel.
Although Russia's pipeline gas exports to the bloc have plunged since the start of the full-scale invasion, a share of supplies continues moving unabated, freed from sanctions.
With the end of transit fast approaching, Slovakia has stepped up diplomatic efforts to ensure the country's energy flows are not disrupted.
As an alternative, Bratislava might resort to Azerbaijan, a small country in the Caucasus that has positioned itself as an affordable option for Europe to replace Russian gas. Deals with Azerbaijan are controversial due to the country's poor human rights record.
Under the scheme, Bruegel explains, Russia would supply gas to Ukraine labelled as "Azeri gas" while Azerbaijan would buy gas from Russia labelled "Russian gas" using the same infrastructure.
"In simple terms, there would be no change in the gas flows: EU traders would buy gas from Azerbaijan, which would buy gas from Russia," Bruegel said in an October study.
