BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European leaders urged EU authorities and Kyiv on Thursday to intensify talks following a halt to Russian gas transit through Ukraine, according to summit conclusions that follow pressure from Slovakia.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had sought a mention of Ukraine gas transit – a major route for Russian gas destined for Slovakia that Kyiv stopped from the start of this year – in the conclusions of a meeting of European Union leaders to discuss Ukraine and defence on Thursday.
Fico had threatened to block the statement without any mention.
In the conclusions, EU leaders called on the parties to “intensify efforts towards finding workable solutions to the gas transit issue, while taking into consideration the concerns raised by Slovakia.”
It dropped a mention of “resumption” of flows that was in an earlier draft seen by Reuters.
The European Commission has previously said it has no interest in continuing Russian gas flows through Ukraine and alternatives exist.
The EU has sought to cut its remaining reliance on energy from Russia since it invaded Ukraine.
An EU diplomat said inclusion of the transit reference was not a change in policy but left discussions on Slovakia’s concerns open.
Gas transit ended after Ukraine declined to renew an agreement with Moscow as it sought to deprive Russia of revenue to fund its invasion.
Slovakia’s own transit business of sending gas on to Europe suffered as a knock-on effect and it has also had to seek new routes for its Russian supplies.
It says the halt also increases prices and impairs the European Union’s competitiveness.
Fico has opposed military aid to Ukraine to prevent it from prolonging the war and has been in dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over the transit issue.
But Slovakia has continued talks with EU officials.
Last month, Ukraine was forced to increase gas imports from Europe due to cold weather and after a series of Russian missile attacks targeted the country’s gas facilities.
Fico has said the gas Ukraine has been buying is Russian, and called the situation absurd.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Lili Bayer; Writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by GV De Clercq, Barbara Lewis, Kirsten Donovan and Daniel Wallis)
