Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov assured Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda that Ukraine will serve as a reliable partner in deliveries of natural gas, and the gas crisis in Slovakia from early 2009 will not be repeated, newswire TASR reported.
Dzurinda said he directly asked the Ukrainian prime minister at the meeting in Kiev whether Slovakia will be able to enjoy warmth in the winter.
“I received an unambiguous answer that Ukraine will deliver the contracted amounts of gas,” said Dzurinda as quoted by TASR newswire.
The January 2009 gas crisis in Slovakia lasted for 13 days and brought some of Slovakia’s business giants to a shuddering halt after Russia cut the flow of gas, which it supplies to Slovakia and other European countries through Ukrainian pipelines, as part of a price dispute with Ukraine.
Economic cooperation and energy security is the forefront of the two-day official visit to of Dzurinda to Ukraine. Before leaving for Ukraineon September 5, Dzurinda told TASR that Ukraine belongs to Europe and Slovakia is in favour of the country joining the European Union. Dzurinda also said that he aims to encourage Ukrainians on their path, one that involves pain but which, partly judging from Slovakia's experience, can be accomplished and is worth the effort.
At a meeting with Ukrainian Speaker of Parliament Volodymyr Lytvyn, Dzurinda did discuss Ukraine's ambitions to join the European Union.
Source: TASR
