The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia considers Volodymyr Zelenskyyʼs reaction to threats from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to be "exaggerated." The other day, he spoke about a possible power outage in Ukraine.
This was reported by the Slovak Foreign Ministry.
"We strongly reject any unfounded claims about the opening of a ʼsecond energy frontʼ, as speculated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as fabricated accusations of any alliance with Vladimir Putin," the department said in a statement.
They emphasized that Slovak companies supply electricity to Ukraine on a commercial basis, as they are unable to finance the neighboring state. They called this relationship a priority for Slovak-Ukrainian cooperation.
"Since the beginning of the conflict, we have provided and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Ukraine within our capabilities. In addition, our Ukrainian colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should not ignore the fact that Russian gas, which is transported through the territory of Ukraine, brings significant revenues to it, which are extremely important for the countryʼs economy," the Slovak Foreign Ministry added.
Officials believe that since Kyiv is “experiencing a protracted armed conflict,” it should refrain from “creating new adversaries.” The ministry assured that EU member states, including Slovakia, support Ukraine and its people.
"The government of the Slovak Republic is obliged to protect, first of all, the strategic interests of its country, citizens, and the European Union. It will act regardless of whether the Ukrainian side agrees [to the measures] or not," the diplomats say.
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.
"It seems that Putin instructed Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the interests of the people of Slovakia," the Ukrainian president responded.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Slovakiaʼs share in electricity imports to Ukraine is about 19%. The country is part of the single European energy market, and Fico must respect pan-European rules, the president said.
An anonymous source told Bloomberg that if Slovakiaʼs electricity supply to Ukraine were to be cut off, Poland would help. It would reportedly increase electricity exports to Ukraine to offset any imbalances in the countryʼs power system.
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.
Zelenskyy 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.