The Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič and the Economy Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek return from Ukraine

The President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič and the Minister of Economy Ľubomír Jahnátek returned early in the evening from Ukraine where they held talks concerning the renewal of the gas supply to Slovakia. “The discussions were not simple; we talked about all of Ukraine’s possible options for help to Slovakia”, the President said.

The result of discussions was a promise made by the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko that, during Saturday’s negotiations with the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement on the renewal of the gas supply for Europe through the Ukrainian transit. In the case of the Ukrainian and Russian top officials not arriving at such an agreement, Ukraine is willing to accept the Slovak proposals on the so called gas swap between Ukraine, Russia and Slovakia from storage facilities.

The President also welcomed another option feasible for Slovakia – the transfer of gas to Slovakia from Germany and the Czech Republic through the Jamal gas pipeline. The Prime Minister Robert Fico discussed this solution in Prague. At the press conference held at the Government’s Office the Prime Minister announced that Slovakia can count on a regular gas supply as of  Monday, 19 th january .