Minister Juraj BlanĂ¡r He expressed satisfaction from a joint statement of the European Commission and the High EU representative for foreign affairs KAI Kallas, which was announced on Monday. He noted that Slovak diplomacy was involved in the preparation of this position.
“The European Commission supported Slovakia i Hungary – especially in terms of critical security of energy infrastructure, including protection of pipelines passing through Ukraine to Slovakia, “said BlanĂ¡r in a statement published on Monday at the SÅ‚owacki MFA website.
Ukraine. Slovakia demands the stability of supplies
The politician emphasized that the current priority is for him ensuring stability of gas supply for citizens of your country. Only after securing its own needs, Slovakia can consider support for other countries.
“Technical solutions regarding gas transit by Ukraine are the subject of long -term negotiations, conducted both with the Ukrainian government and the Russia, Turkey and other key players ” – we read further in the statement.
As BlanĂ¡r explains, The decision of Ukraine to not extend the contract for the transit of Russian gas forced Bratislava to look for alternatives. Premier Robert I am He initiated talks with the European Commission, which will be continued at the Energy Energy level Dan Jörgnsen.
“From the beginning, we discussed with the Ukrainian government about the possibility of transporting gas other than Russian by Ukraine. That is why we receive the readiness of the Ukrainian side to talk as Return to the solution we proposedin which we talked about gas transit, for example Azerbaijan” – emphasized BlanĂ¡r.
The importance of gas transit for the EU
The minister pointed out that they have negotiations Important not only for Slovakia, but for the whole European Union. During the meeting of the EU Council for Foreign Affairs, he argued that the decisions regarding gas transit would have significant financial effects on all countries addicted to this infrastructure.
“Slovak diplomacy will continue to defend the energy interests of our country and the entire European Union. Energy availability and its price are crucial for the competitiveness of the EUwhich currently loses significantly compared to United States i China” – wrote BlanĂ¡r.
Hungary will also participate in talks about gas transit. Minister BlanĂ¡r emphasized that Slovak energy interests are closely related to the entire region, and supply stability requires close international cooperation.
The European Union extends sanctions imposed on Russia
Foreign ministers of the European Union countries on Monday in Brussels They unanimously decided to extend economic sanctions to Russia, which were to apply only until the next Friday. Hungary, which previously blocked the extension, received assurance that the European Commission would continue to negotiate with Ukraine the possibility of gas transit.
In connection with the risk of blocking the decision by Budapest before the meeting of the ministers, a meeting of member state ambassadors was held, during which the EC guaranteed Hungary to continue talking about gas transit, also taking into account Slovakia.
Source: Reuters, mzv.sk