The presidential offices of Slovakia and Ukraine are working on a declaration recognizing Ukraine’s European integration aspirations, said Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger.
“Slovakia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and her European aspirations of Ukraine. This is one of my main messages today in Kyiv. And we are vocal on that in Brussels as well. Presidential offices of both countries are working on the declaration you mentioned,” Heger said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He stressed that Ukraine’s European integration aspirations had already been officially recognized many times.
“For now, it is important to use all the provisions the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine offers,” the premier added.
He noted that during his visit to Kyiv on Friday, he would talk with Ukrainian interlocutors about the reforms.
“Indeed, transformation and modernization of the country is a prerequisite for becoming a member of the EU and NATO. The reform process in Ukraine is continuing and Slovakia believes it will be sustainable and successful. Btw, the changes are not about the EU and NATO, they need to be introduced be Ukrainians themselves to make Ukraine stronger, more resilient, to the benefit of all the Ukrainians,” Heger said.
The bilateral agreement on the use of the Slovak airspace by the international airport Uzhgorod will be in effect from June 5, said Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger.
“There are still some technical measures and procedures to be put in place and you simply cannot make shortcuts. It is about safety and established mechanisms in the air transportation, not about politics. I was informed that all the process will be finished in September,” Heger said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The Slovak Republic has always been a reliable transit country for Russian gas to the West through Ukraine, and it is interested in maintaining this transit through Ukraine, said Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger.
“As for the Nord Stream 2 Project, it is not in the hands of Slovakia to decide. Slovakia has always been a reliable transit country for the Russian gas to the West through the territory of Ukraine and we are definitely interested in keeping this gas transit through Ukraine. We believe the transit contract between Russia and Ukraine will be fulfilled further on,” Heger said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger will visit Ukraine at the end of this month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said following a meeting with the head of the Slovak government.
“Pleased to meet with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger to discuss trade, investments, energy and infrastructure cooperation. Ukraine and Slovakia remain reliable partners and friends. Looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister in Ukraine in two weeks,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
The volume of electricity imports to the integrated power system (IPS) of Ukraine from Belarus since the beginning of the year amounted to 150 MWh, to the Burshtyn TPP Island from Slovakia it was 30 MWh, according to data on the website of the system operator NPC Ukrenergo as of Monday.
According to the NPC data, 133 MWh of electricity was exported to Hungary (93 MWh) and Romania (40 MWh).
According to the results of the daily auction on January 1, published on the NPC website, the interstate sections in the direction of Belarus-Ukraine were purchased by DE Trading LLC and Dniprostal-energo LLC – 1,200 MW (50 MW every hour) and 540 MW (60 MW in the first four hours and last five hours of the day), respectively.
The section in the direction of Slovakia-Ukraine was purchased by TAS Energy Country LLC (only 200 MW per day). The same company bought out 150 MW in the direction of Ukraine-Hungary.
Ukraine and the Slovak Republic have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the provision of aviation operational services by their Ukrainian supplier in a certain part of the Slovak airspace relative to Uzhgorod airport.
According to Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy, the document was signed by him and Minister of Transport and Construction of Slovakia Andrej Dolezal.
“The full operation of Uzhgorod airport will be restored. Just now, together with my Slovak colleague, Minister of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic Andrej Dolezal, we signed an appropriate bilateral intergovernmental agreement. Finally, after so many months of inactivity, we will connect Zakarpattia by air service with other regions and with abroad,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine with reference to the head of the department, the signing of this agreement will also help strengthen mutual bilateral relations in the civil aviation sector between the countries and in terms of expanding the possibilities of international air transportation.
However, Krykliy expressed hope for the early completion of the coordination of technical issues related to the implementation of the agreement and the signing by the parties of the implementation protocols within a month.
The ministry said that the agreement was initialed by both countries during negotiations in Kyiv on December 18, 2019. The document takes into account the security and defense aspects arising from the membership of Slovakia in NATO, as well as from the fact that the Ukrainian-Slovak border is also the external border of the Alliance.
According to the ministry, the agreement was concluded for an indefinite period and comes into force from the date of receipt through diplomatic channels of the last written notification of the completion of the domestic procedures necessary for its entry into force.
