Ziga: Gas Crisis in New Year Likely
Bratislava, December 11 (TASR) – A gas crisis, i.e. the suspension of gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine to Slovakia like in January 2009, is likely, said Economy Minister Peter Ziga (Smer-SD) following the Cabinet session on Wednesday.
“It’s more likely than not. The ten-year contract between Russia and Ukraine signed during the previous gas crisis in 2009 will expire at the end of 2019,” noted the economy minister.
According to Ziga, Slovakia is preparing itself for the situation. “On Monday (December 16), we’ll hold a meeting regarding gas reservoirs with the relevant institutions, i.e. gas utility SPP, gas distributor SPP-Distribucia and Nafta, which focuses on natural gas storage. The talks will be held at the Economy Ministry,” he said.
Based on the results of the so-called Normandy Four meeting, it doesn’t appear that the negotiations will move towards being successfully concluded or that the contract for gas supplies will either be resumed or extended, stated Ziga.
“At the moment I view it as though we’re rather closer to a crisis, i.e. to the Russians halting gas supplies via Ukraine. We’ll have to make use of all the measures we’ve been working on for ten years. We’ll have to ensure that gas supplies for Slovak households and companies are provided,” added Ziga.
