Wiadomość została wysłana.
The current deal, from which Kyiv earns regular income accounting for around 0.5% of its GDP, is set to end on December 31.
Pipelines through Ukraine account for about half of all Russian gas exports to the EU.
Ahead of the announcement, four EU countries particularly dependent on Russian gas—Austria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia—called for the agreement to be extended.
But speaking in Brussels on Thursday following talks with EU leaders, Zelenskyy confirmed the arrangement would not be continued.
“We would not prolong the transit of Russian gas,” Zelenskyy was quoted by Reuters as saying. “We will not give the possibility of additional billions to be earned on our blood, on the lives of our citizens.”
However, he said an exception could be made if payment is delayed until after the war.
“If the country is ready to give us the gas but not to pay the money back to Russia until the end of the war, then it's a possible potentiality,” he continued. “We can think about it.”
Zelenskyy also ruled out facilitating the transit of Russian gas via Azerbaijan, an alternative the Slovakian government had been pushing for. Bratislava imports three billion cubic meters of gas a year by pipeline from Russia, covering most of its needs.
In light of the approaching cessation, the landlocked country had intensified diplomatic efforts to safeguard its supply, including buying Russian gas from Baku.
The solution would involve Azerbaijan buying Russian gas and selling it as its own production.
“In simple terms, there would be no change in the gas flows: EU traders would buy gas from Azerbaijan, which would buy gas from Russia," economics think tank Bruegel explained in an October study.
But Zelenskyy branded the possibility a deceitful circumvention.
"We don't want to play a game where this other country receives gas from Russia and then transits it," he was quoted by Euronews as saying. “This is the same as continuing to profit from this war and sending money to Russia.”
The Ukrainian president said he told the Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, on Thursday that he would be open to carrying another country's gas through its infrastructure but would need assurances that this was not merely re-labeled Russian fuel.
He also rebuked Fico, who had warned the day before the Brussels talks that Ukraine would take an economic hit when the gas deal with Gazprom ends.
“To be honest, during a war it's a bit shameful to talk about money because we're losing people," Zelenskyy said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin played down the impact on his country and its flagship energy company.
“This contract will no longer exist. Everything is clear,” the Kyiv Independent quoted him as saying. “We will survive; Gazprom will survive.”
The European Commission has said it is prepared for the contract’s expiration, saying that all countries receiving Russian fuel via Ukraine have access to alternative supplies.
