Imagine it or not, throughout the length of the Ukraine struggle, there was a contract in impact for the transit of Russian gasoline by Ukraine to be bought by Central Europe nations.
This transit contract between Ukraine and Russia will expire on 1 January 2025, and Ukraine has made it clear that it’ll not lengthen the settlement.
In the course of the EU Summit going down in Brussels, many leaders have been pleading for its continuation, together with Slovak PM Robert Fico, who stated {that a} ‘battle’ between Ukraine and Slovakia might come up from that.
Politico reported:
“Zelensky lashed out at Slovakia, saying: ‘It’s a bit shameful to speak about cash as a result of we’re shedding folks’. Fico later informed reporters that Zelensky’s proposals to him behind closed doorways had been ‘absurd’ and urged Ukraine was taking the freedom to wreck an EU member’s financial system.”
Fico additionally blew the whistle on what quantities to a bribing proposal Made by the Ukrainian chief.
“Fico stated that after he informed Zelensky that Slovakia might lose about €500 million in gasoline transit charges a yr, the Ukrainian president ‘requested me if I’d then vote for NATO membership if he gave me €500 million of Russian belongings, and naturally, I stated ‘by no means’’.”
Ukrainska Pravda reported:
“’We’re demonstrably going through a gasoline disaster because of President Zelensky’, Fico acknowledged throughout a press convention earlier than the summit, although he didn’t make clear his remarks additional.
[…] ‘Now we have variations on the problem of gasoline transit by Ukraine. I requested him whether or not he can be able to transit different gasoline apart from Russian gasoline’, Fico stated.”
Zelensky additionally dominated out the chance that Ukraine might transit any gasoline, even from different international locations.
“’We see no motive to pay extra for gasoline because of geopolitical circumstances’, the Slovak prime minister acknowledged throughout a press convention on 13 December, accusing the West of exerting strain relating to gasoline transit.
EU Commissioner for Power Dan Jørgensen confirmed that the EU is actively making ready to finish all gasoline cooperation with Russia, stating, ‘Our principal precedence is to utterly sever power ties between the EU and Russia’.”
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