Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic Denisa Saková paid a working visit to Uzhhorod on Friday, 5 September 2025, as part of the delegation of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during his meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliya A. Svyrydenko. D. Saková also met with the Ukrainian Minister of Energy Svitlana Grynchuk. The ministers of both countries agreed that Slovakia and Ukraine share a strategic interest in maintaining safe and reliable supplies of natural gas.
“Today, together with the Prime Minister, we held important talks in Ukraine. In a bilateral meeting with my new Ukrainian colleague, the Minister of Energy Svitlana Grynchuk, we agreed that energy is currently one of the most important issues for both our countries. For Slovakia as well as for Ukraine, it is in the national interest to use the existing energy infrastructure efficiently for the transport and supply of gas and oil, as well as to implement investments in modernization and increasing the capacity of electricity interconnections. The transport of gas and the continuation of oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline remain a priority. We have different views on the continuation of supplies from Russia, but we share a mutual interest in developing joint diversification projects that will be economically beneficial for both sides,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic Denisa Saková after the meeting.
Slovakia confirmed its readiness to continue active cooperation in the energy sector with Ukraine and to participate in its reconstruction, with the goal of ensuring the energy stability of the entire region as well as the EU.
In connection with recent attacks on oil infrastructure on Russian territory by Ukraine, Minister Saková stressed the need to maintain the uninterrupted flow through the Druzhba pipeline, which is key to the energy security of Slovakia and the whole Central European region.
“Developing cooperation in oil transport, in gas supplies to Ukraine through reverse flow, as well as the possibility of using existing gas storage facilities for the safe storage of Ukrainian reserves will be the subject of further bilateral negotiations at the upcoming joint government session. One example is the Odessa–Brody diversification project for oil supplies, further gas deliveries to Ukraine via reverse flow, and we will certainly be helpful in the reconstruction of Ukraine once the war on its territory ends,” added Saková.
Slovakia is also actively helping Ukraine in the field of electricity. In 2025, it exported more than 2000 GWh of electricity to Ukraine, significantly contributing to the stability of the local power system. In addition, it provided more than 60 GWh of emergency assistance during crisis situations.
An important part of the talks was also the project to increase capacity on the Veľké Kapušany–Mukachevo cross-border electricity interconnection, which will contribute to a significant increase in capacity and to strengthening the energy security of both countries.
Discussions on cooperation between the two countries will continue at the fourth joint meeting of the governments of Slovakia and Ukraine, which could take place in the autumn in Slovakia.
Source: Press Department, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic
