Fico: I secured gas for Slovakia

The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, said that at the negotiations in Brussels on the suspension of Ukrainian gas transit, he will do everything to “wake up the European Commission from its sweet sleep”.

– To my great surprise, the European Union and its bodies are silent. Tomorrow morning I am going to Brussels for talks with the energy commissioner. I will do everything to wake him from his sweet sleep – said Fico in a video message published on Facebook.

He noted that due to the stoppage of gas transit through Ukraine, a “serious problem” has arisen, which is estimated at tens of billions of euros.

– Neither Slovakia nor the European Union is at war, we have no reason to put up with (Vladimir) Zelenski’s adventures – Fico added.

In his opinion, nothing prevents Ukraine from continuing the transit of gas through its territory.

– Zelensky’s unilateral decision to stop the transit of any gas through Ukraine significantly harms Slovakia and the EU from a financial point of view and significantly helps the USA, which can increase gas supplies to Europe. Zelensky is deliberately harming the financial interests of Slovakia and the EU, despite the fact that the European Commission clearly states in its official letter that nothing prevents Ukraine from continuing the transit: neither European law, nor sanctions – explained Fico.

He reminded that the damage to Slovakia from the loss of the opportunity to engage in gas transit to other EU countries will amount to around 500 million euros per year.

– And a billion euros more in gas prices – added Fico, specifying that the entire European Union will pay about 70 billion euros for this “adventure”.

The prime minister added that one of the reasons for his visit to Moscow in December was the need to provide gas for Slovakia’s internal needs.

– The interruption of gas transit through Ukraine and the damage to Slovakia’s national and financial interests were the reason for my trip to Moscow. I had to at least provide gas for Slovakia’s internal needs, we provided that without increasing the price of gas. I also wanted to get an answer from the Russian partner, whether Russia is ready to continue supplying gas for transit through Ukraine and Slovakia further west. The answer was positive – said Fico.

He also emphasized that “Russia has always been a reliable supplier” of energy resources.

Slovak authorities have previously stated several times that they want to keep the possibility of transporting gas further to the West through their territory, since the country receives about 500 million euros per year as a transit fee for this.

Fico previously stated that Slovakia is in favor of restoring gas transit through Ukraine, otherwise, the country’s losses must be compensated. He also threatened Kiev to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine and reduce support for Ukrainian citizens now in Slovakia.