Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just made a decision that will not please Vladimir Putin at all.
The current agreement, through which kyiv derives regular revenues worth around 0.5% of its GDP, is scheduled to end on December 31, 2024.
Pipelines passing through Ukraine account for about half of all Russian gas exports to the EU.
Before this announcement, four EU countries particularly dependent on Russian gas, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia, requested the extension of the agreement.
“We will not extend the transit of Russian gas. We will not allow the possibility that additional billions will be earned on our blood, on the lives of our citizens”, Zelensky said, as quoted by Reuters.
He added, however, that an exception could be made if payment was delayed until after the war.
“If the country is willing to give us gas but doesn't pay the money back to Russia before the war is over, then that's a possibility. We can think about it”, he continued.
Zelensky also ruled out facilitating the transit of Russian gas via Azerbaijan, an alternative favored by the Slovak government.
Bratislava imports 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year via pipeline from Russia, covering most of its needs.
As the cessation approaches, the landlocked country has stepped up diplomatic efforts to secure its supplies, including purchasing Russian gas from Baku.
The solution would involve Azerbaijan buying Russian gas and selling it as its own production.
Zelensky: “This contract will no longer exist”
“In simple terms, there would be no change in gas flows: EU traders would buy gas from Azerbaijan, which would buy gas from Russia,” economic think tank Bruegel explained in an October study.
But the Ukrainian president called this possibility a misleading circumvention.
“We don't want to play a game where this other country receives gas from Russia and then passes it through. This means continuing to profit from this war and sending money to Russia”, he confided, quoted by Euronews.
The Ukrainian president said he told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday, December 19, 2024, that he would be willing to transport gas from another country through its infrastructure, but would need assurance that it was not just relabeled Russian fuel.
He also reprimanded Fico, who warned the day before the Brussels negotiations that Ukraine would suffer an economic blow when the gas deal with Gazprom ended.
“To be honest, during a war it's a bit shameful to talk about money because we lose people“, Zelensky declared.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has played down the impact of the cut in funds his country's flagship energy company will provide once Ukraine ends the deal.
“This contract will no longer exist. Everything is clear. We will survive; Gazprom will survive”, he said, quoted by the Kyiv Independent.
The European Commission said it was ready for the contract to expire, saying all countries receiving Russian fuel via Ukraine have access to alternative supplies.
