Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico recorded a video address to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and invited him to negotiations on stopping the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory.
Robert Fico proposes holding a meeting on the territory of Slovakia near the state border with Ukraine, "preferably as soon as possible".
The Slovak Prime Minister believes that this will create "good" conditions for an open discussion on gas supplies to Slovakia and other countries through the territory of Ukraine and possible technical solutions, taking into account the termination of the contract between Ukrainian and Russian companies on December 31, 2024.
UPD: President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Robert Ficoʼs invitation with the words: "Okay. Come to Kyiv on Friday."
At the same time, Fico emphasized that he was not going to respond to Zelenskyʼs statement, which he made on January 12, so as not to cause "further escalation of tensions," but instead wanted to "fully focus on resolving the situation related to the cessation of gas transit".
The day before, on January 12, Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the threats of the Prime Minister of Slovakia to limit aid to Ukrainians and stop electricity supplies and wrote that Fico "arrogantly refused" aid to Ukraine and "is trying to shift the blame from himself to someone else through PR, lies, and loud accusations".
Russian gas supplies to Slovakia
The agreement between Russia and Ukraine on the export of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory expired on January 1, 2025. Therefore, Slovakia and other EU countries are starting to look for alternative sources, but Robert Fico wants Ukraine to either restore supplies or compensate for losses, which the Slovak Prime Minister estimates at €500 million per year.
Russia said it was ready to continue supplying gas through Ukraine, but because of the war, Ukraine refused to participate in negotiations with Russia on gas exports through its territories.
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.
Slovakia and Hungary have also had problems with Russian oil supplies this year. Babel reported on this in detail here.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.