Ukraine Rejects Hungary, Slovakia's Groundless Accusations of ‘Complications’ After Russian Gas Transit Suspension
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has described as ‘manipulative’ statements by the Hungarian authorities that the suspension of Russian gas transit has allegedly had a negative impact on consumer prices, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's website reports.
According to the report, such statements are ‘part of a politically motivated information campaign for domestic consumption’.
The Foreign Ministry points to the European Commission's statement of 1 January, according to which Ukraine's decision had no negative impact on the energy security of the EU and on consumer prices in the European market.
‘The only cause of problems in the European energy market has always been Russia. For decades, the Kremlin has been using energy as a weapon to blackmail European governments and undermine energy security. Since the beginning of its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Russia has become an existential threat to stability and peace on the European continent. As a result, the era of Europe's dependence on Russian energy is coming to an end,’ the ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry reminds that the EU authorities and European governments are working together to diversify their sources of supply and ‘all European countries’ have found sources of alternative energy from the United States and the Middle East:
‘Only two of the twenty-seven EU countries have failed to do so, and are now trying to put their problems on a sore thumb. In addition, by trying to maintain their dependence on Russia, contrary to common sense, they are also actually preventing the United States and other partners from accessing the European energy market.’
The agency adds that if Budapest's priority is to strengthen Russia rather than the European Union and the United States, then ‘it should be openly acknowledged’.
The day before, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Ukraine had put the European Union in a difficult economic situation by stopping the transit of Russian gas.
According to POLITICO, Slovakia also sought to extend an agreement to import Russian gas through Ukraine but was denied, prompting threats from populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to cut electricity exports to Ukraine and reduce support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.
The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Slovakia were to meet in Brussels to discuss the implications of the end of the agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Europe. The European Commission was to mediate the talks. But a few hours before the meeting, Fico's government announced that the Ukrainian side had withdrawn from the talks.
However, in a commentary to POLITICO, Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, Vsevolod Chentsov, denied this statement, stressing that the meeting was initiated by Kyiv to discuss Fico's threats to cut off electricity supplies.
‘Ukraine has launched an early warning mechanism for electricity supplies because of Fico's threats to cut off supplies, not because of negotiations on gas transit,’ Chentsov said.
According to him, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko had planned to take part in the discussions in Brussels, but was forced to stay home due to the difficult situation in the energy sector. Instead of accepting Kyiv's proposal to hold the meeting online, the Commission representatives suggested rescheduling it for another date, the ambassador added.
‘The Commission is ready to continue discussing the impact of the completion of the transit agreements with all stakeholders. We remain in close contact,’ a spokesman for the EU executive told POLITICO.
On 1 January, at 07:00, Ukraine stopped transporting Russian natural gas through its territory ‘in the interests of national security’.