Slovakia agrees to deliver natural gas to Ukraine

An agreement was signed today between Slovakia and Ukraine to deliver natural gas to Ukraine which faces the threat of a cut-off in supplies it currently receives from Russia, due to massive debt.

The actual delivering process might be some months away from happening as Ukraine needs to bring changes to the pipeline though which it will receive the supplies.

Ukraine had also previously singed a contract with Germany and another one with Hungary for natural gas delivery, the German supplies already reaching Ukrainians starting with this month.

These moves represent Ukraine’s effort to become less dependent on Russian supplies.

Moscow has recently raised the gas price for Ukraine to $485 per thousand cubic meters from $268.50 in addition to threatening to demand in advance payment. As Ukraine’s finances are close to collapse, this comes as a too heavy burden for it to carry.

‘This is an important first step to diversify Ukraine's sources of gas supply and contributes to greater energy security in Eastern Europe and the EU as a whole,’ said EU President Jose Manuel Barroso.