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Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico will hold talks with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Dec. 19, to discuss the possibility of continuing its gas transit through Ukraine beyond 2024, Reuters reported on Dec. 18.Slovakia currently imports 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year through Ukraine from Russia’s energy giant Gazprom. Kyiv recently said it will not prolong the deal that allowed Russian gas to transit to the EU through Ukrainian territory beyond its expiry date on Dec. 31.”I take into account the decision of the Ukrainian government that they do not want to extend the contract with Gazprom,” Fico told Slovakia’s European Affairs Committee. “But that does not mean we cannot take gas from the east,” he added.Fico also said Slovakia is exploring the possibilities to receive non-Russian gas through Ukraine, and will aim to secure the EU Commission’s backing during Thursday’s talks for future negotiations. He did not elaborate on who would replace Russian gas in the country’s import of energy. Kyiv is open to negotiating gas transit for any origin, except Russian, its Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told his Slovakian counterpart on Dec. 18.Despite Europe’s efforts to wean itself off of Russian fossil fuels in the wake of a full-scale invasion, many countries remain heavily dependent on Russian gas, with Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria among the main buyers. Landlocked countries in central-Europe have been depending on Ukraine’s transit to receive Russia’s gas.Slovakia’s state-owned energy company SPP and its partners in Hungary, Italy, and Austria called for continued gas transit through Ukraine in a declaration published on Dec. 17.SPP chairman Vojtech Ferencz said that replacing the entire volume of gas transiting from Ukraine would cost the company an additional 150 million euros ($157 million).A Russian-friendly populist, Fico halted military aid to Ukraine from the Slovak Armed Forces’ stocks after taking office in September 2023 in a stark foreign policy reversal. He recently announced he had accepted the Kremlin’s invitation to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow next May.Russia detains two suspects over assassination of General Igor Kirillov, Kremlin media reportsRussian Telegram channel 112 said the suspects had already confessed to authorities.
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