Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said the country would consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as cutting off back-up power supplies after Jan. 1 if Kiev stops the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia, as expected.
Slovakia has been trying to maintain Russian gas deliveries through Ukraine until 2025, even though Kiev has refused to renew a transit agreement with Moscow that expires at the end of the year.
Fico claims that alternative routes would sharply increase costs and hit Slovak transit operations, causing a loss of 500 million euros in fees. In today’s video message published on Facebook, Fico reiterated his opinion that the suspension of gas through Ukraine would negatively affect the European Union and its competitiveness.
He cited estimates according to which the cost to the Union could reach 120 billion euros in the period from 2025 to 2026 due to higher gas prices and electricity production. He attributed the blame to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he had a public polemic last week.
“After January 1, we will assess the situation and the possibilities of reciprocal measures against Ukraine. If it is unavoidable, we will stop the supply of electricity to Ukraine,” Fico said in the video.
Ukraine has declared that it will stop the flow of Russian gas through its territory from January 1. Slovakia claims that the move will not affect its consumer needs due to storage capacity, while the country’s main gas buyer, SPP, has contracts to purchase gas from sources outside of Russia.
Fico has changed Slovakia’s foreign policy since taking power a little over a year ago, notably by halting military aid to Ukraine and strengthening relations with Russia. On Sunday, Fico became only the third leader of the Union to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow since the beginning of the war.
However, Slovakia has also provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine and exports diesel fuel and electricity to its neighbour. From January to November this year, Slovakia exported 2.4 million megawatt hours of electricity, which is an increase of 152 percent compared to the previous year.
(Vijesti.ba/HINA)
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