Slovakia Formally Pulls Out of Emergency Energy Pact with Ukraine

March 17 ------ Ukraine’s state-owned electricity transmission system operator Ukrenergo said it has received an official letter from its Slovak counterpart – notifying it that Bratislava is unilaterally pulling out of an agreement between the two countries to provide each other with emergency energy assistance.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Feb. 23 that Slovakia will not help Ukraine stabilize its energy grid – which has been the focus of massive Russian bombardment throughout the winter – until crude oil transit resumes through Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline, which Slovakia and Hungary have accused Ukraine of intentionally blocking.

In a statement, Ukrenergo said that Slovakia’s energy system operator (SEPS) will terminate the agreement in May. “After a series of public statements that we saw in February and March, NPC Ukrenergo received an official letter from the Slovak system operator, SEPS, regarding the unilateral termination of the Agreement on Mutual Emergency Assistance,” the statement reads.

The company said that SEPS management provided no reason for the contract’s cancellation in the letter. “For its part, NPC Ukrenergo has never allowed any violations of the contractual terms with SEPS, acting in the spirit of good neighborliness and respect for the norms of European legislation,” the company said.

The Druzhba pipeline, which traverses Ukrainian territory, was damaged by a Russian attack on Ukraine’s Lviv region in January. Both Slovakia and Hungary rely heavily on Russian oil. Budapest claims that Kyiv is intentionally blocking oil transit through the pipeline, in a row that has escalated sharply in recent weeks, as a parliamentary election that could test Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s iron grip on power rapidly approaches.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will work with any Hungarian leader “who is not [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ally.” Fico is a close ally of Orbán in matters concerning Russian energy. Ukrenergo emphasized that Slovakia’s decision to suspend emergency energy assistance will not affect Ukrainian consumers. “Emergency assistance from Slovakia has been attracted by NPC Ukrenergo quite rarely and in very limited volumes. The last such case was recorded in January of this year,” the company said.

Source:kyivpost.com