Poland is ready to take action if the Slovak government decides to cut off backup energy supplies to Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
An anonymous official cited by the publication claims that Warsaw will increase electricity exports to Ukraine to compensate for any imbalance in the countryʼs energy system.
The Kremlin has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones, causing power outages across the country, leaving Kyiv heavily dependent on imports, including from Slovakia, Bloomberg reports.
Slovakia continues to receive Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which transits Ukraine. Kyiv may cut off these supplies in response if Bratislava stops exporting electricity, the source said.
What preceded this
"After January 1, we will assess the situation and possible reciprocal measures against Ukraine. If necessary, we will stop the supply of electricity, which Ukraine desperately needs during grid outages," Fico said on December 27.
He justified the threat by saying that stopping the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine would have a significant impact on the economy of all of Europe.
According to the Slovak Prime Minister, due to the suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, the European Union will have to allocate an additional €120 billion for energy over the next two years.
"Closing the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine is not just an empty political gesture. It is an extremely expensive step, for which we, in the European Union, will pay," Fico said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Slovakiaʼs share in electricity imports to Ukraine is about 19%. The Ukrainian government is working with its EU neighbors to maintain the necessary volume of electricity supplies. Slovakia is part of the single European energy market, and Fico must respect pan-European rules, the president said.
Russian gas supplies to Slovakia
The agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the export of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory expires on December 31, 2024. Therefore, Slovakia and other EU countries began to look for alternative sources, one of which was Azerbaijan. Slovakia and Azerbaijan signed a short-term agreement.
Russia said that it was ready to continue supplying gas through the territory of Ukraine, but because of the war, Ukraine refused to participate in negotiations with Russia regarding gas exports through its territory.
Slovakian company SPP said it has diversified gas purchase contracts with BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Eni and RWE and has up to 150% of its customersʼ consumption available as a safety cushion. SPP said Slovakia has also diversified transit supply routes in case transit via the pipeline through Ukraine is disrupted.
Robert Fico met with Putin in the Kremlin in December of this year. Most likely, the topic of their conversation was the agreement on the transportation of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, which expires at the end of December.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to this.
According to him, during a recent meeting of European leaders in Brussels, it was noted that the Slovak Prime Minister does not want to join joint European work to achieve energy independence or find alternatives to Russian gas.
Zelensky says that Fico, on the contrary, seeks to help Russia displace American gas and other European energy resources.
The Prime Minister of Slovakia refused compensation that would ease the transition period and help get rid of dependence, that is, for him this issue is not a security issue, the President of Ukraine said.
- Slovakia and Hungary have also had problems with Russian oil supplies this year. Babel reported on this in detail here.