Deep, long-awaited changes have occurred in relations between Ukraine and the Three Seas Initiative (3SI): Ukraine has been granted partnership status.

Oleksandr Slivchuk, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute of International Policy, writes about the status of Ukraine in this organization, Three Seas Candidate: How Ukraine Can Benefit from This Initiative.

The last Three Seas summit in Riga on June 20-21 clearly showed two positive trends:

- Ukraine raised its interest in the Three Seas at the highest level;

- the Initiative itself actively discussed Ukraine.

In addition to the war factor, the summit presidency of our partner Latvia also contributed. President Egils Levits is a consistent ally of Ukraine. He visited the Crimean Platform last August and the 30th of Ukraine's independence anniversary.

Diplomatically, Ukraine used the moment to establish cooperation with the Three Seas Initiative.

Post-war rebuilding and large-scale diversification of energy sources are the key challenges for Ukraine now.

The war clearly showed the closeness to other states of Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine is politically integrated into the region. The partnership with Poland and Lithuania is strategic.

What should Ukraine pay attention to, first of all?

Poland expects the Baltic Pipe to be operational in October 2022. This will finally open the way to gas supply from Norway to the CEE region, including Ukraine.

The pipeline route between the Polish town Strachocina and the Slovak town Veľké Kapušany has already been tested. Serhiy Makoрon, the general director of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine, officially announced Ukraine would get access to gas from LNG terminals in Poland and the Baltic states with this gas pipeline.

The 3SI actively discusses the possible expansion of Ukraine's gas interconnector with Poland. In particular, it is about the connection between Hermanowice in Poland and Bilche-Volytsa in Ukraine and increasing the throughput to 8 billion cubic meters.

One of the main infrastructural issues is: will Ukraine be able to join the Via Carpathia transport corridor?

Ukraine's participation in Via Carpathia is the possibility of a high-speed corridor from the territory of Poland through the western and central regions of Ukraine to the port in Odesa. Another idea is about a high-speed corridor from Poland (Rzeszów) through the western regions of Ukraine in the direction of Romania (Suceava) and further down south.

The next Summit of the Three Seas Initiative in 2023 will be held in Romania.

Potential membership depends on Ukraine's proposals and mutual success.

The statements at the summit in Riga made clear the members of the 3SI were interested in expanding the Initiative to Ukraine. And Kyiv will have to work on its lobbying.