FM Sybiha: No resumption of Russian gas transit through Ukraine

Kyiv does no longer plan to resume the transit of Russian gas to Europe, with Ukrainian authorities having no intention of changing this position. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha emphasized this robust stance in his latest exclusive interview to Ukraine's European Pravda publiction. 

According to Sybiha, Russia uses energy supplies as a weapon, and depriving it of this leverage, while painful for some in the short term, has a positive strategic impact.

Addressing Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's recently voiced criticism of Ukraine's decision that was "damaging" his country, Sybiha noted that dependence on Moscow for gas might seem advantageous in the short run, but it invariably leads to negative outcomes. The price Russia demands for such cooperation often exceeds expectations and sometimes costs a nation's sovereignty, the minister warned.

The diplomat also pointed out that Austria, a country as reliant on Russian gas as Slovakia, managed to secure alternative suppliers including Türkiye and Azerbaijan. He also stressed that Slovakia's leadership's threats to block Ukraine's European integration path would be resolved through dialogue, adding that reducing the relationship between the two countries to gas issues is fundamentally misguided.

Sybiha effectively closed a previously crack in the door on the issue of Russian gas transit, previously left open by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he said in December 2024 that Ukraine could consider continued transit of Russian gas on the condition that Moscow does not receive money for the fuel until after the war. 

The Ukrainian leader invited Slovakia's Robert Fico for face-to-face talks in Kyiv after rejecting a proposal put forward by the Slovak prime minister to resolve an ongoing dispute over Russian gas. Following  unsuccessful talks in Brussels, Fico threatened potential retaliation against Zelenskyy, including cutting off electricity supplies to Ukraine, withdrawing humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees and vetoing EU decisions intended to help Kyiv.

"Some may say that it is cruel what I am saying now, but it is also cruel what Zelenskyy is doing to us and what he is doing to the EU," Fico told reporters back then.

By Nazrin Sadigova