KIEV, May 15 - Ukraine, which seeks to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas imports, on Wednesday started imports of gas from Europe via Slovakia, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytskiy said.

“It’s started,” Stavytskiy told reporters. “This will be test-run supplies and data exchange.”

The test-run will continue for 7-10 days after which Ukraine will decide on how much gas it can be importing via the Slovakian route.