Gas supplies from Europe to Ukraine via Slovakia will continue, and their volume may even be increased, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak has said.
“Gas reverse supplies from Slovakia to Ukraine will continue further, and I can confirm this,” he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The minister said that the possibility of boosting gas supplies to Ukraine is being considered at the moment.
“Thanks to its supplies, Slovakia now provides 20 percent of total demand, or 40 percent of the required gas imports to Ukraine. There is an opportunity to increase these figures,” he said.
Slovakia’s domestic gas situation is stable due to gas accumulated in storage facilities and warm weather, he said. What is more, gas issues are on the agenda of further talks with Russia.
“We’ve looked into several options and found a solution that does not violate the contractual relationship between Slovak and Russian companies. And Russia has agreed with it. It was important for us to help Ukraine without violating contractual relations with Russia,” the minister said, adding that since the beginning of October, Slovakia has been receiving practically only 50 percent of the daily volume of gas sealed in the contract.
“Russia explains this by technical problems,” he added.
