A meeting with a government delegation on the suspension of gas transit will take place in Brussels on Thursday, January 9, the Government Office reported on Tuesday, adding that the issue is set to be discussed by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Hlas-SD) along with European Commission representatives.
The meeting was originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday, but it was postponed due to the absence of the Ukrainian side.
The contract between Ukraine and Russia for gas transit to Europe expired at the end of 2024 after the Ukrainians decided not to extend it. Premier Fico disagreed with the move and announced that Slovakia might take reciprocal measures, including stopping electricity supplies to Ukraine and limiting support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday discussed by telephone the issue with his Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD).
According to the head of Hungarian diplomacy, Kyiv is trying to join the European Union, but as a candidate for membership, its new decision has once again put the European economy in a more difficult situation.
"This is especially true for central Europe," added Szijjarto, who discussed with Blanar the situation that has arisen as a result of Ukraine's decision.
"We agreed that the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement should be respected by both sides and that this agreement also provides for the preservation of energy transport routes," emphasised the Hungarian minister.
According to coalition party Hlas-SD Slovakia will lose hundreds of millions of euros both in gas purchases from another supplier and in lost transit fees to other countries as a result of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's move. Adding that if the Ukrainian President wishes to continue with this approach towards Slovakia, the question will arise as to whether Slovakia will continue to support Ukraine's accession to the EU.
"If President Zelenskyy wants to be perceived as a partner, he must behave accordingly. Slovakia has already shown what real partnership means - we've provided Ukraine with significant military, political and humanitarian aid, while also lending a helping hand to all the people fleeing the senseless military conflict," stressed the coalition member.
Now, according to Hlas-SD it is time for the same level of respect and cooperation to be shown by Ukraine. The party prefers to address unresolved issues through negotiations (including the active participation of the European Commission) and not via unilateral steps on the part of Ukraine.
According to Michael Simecka the leader of the opposition PS party the premier has already managed to lose everything - gas, money for transit as well as the respect of Slovakia's partners.
According to Simecka, Fico had months to negotiate. "But, instead of good relations with Kyiv and the EU, he chose to kneel before dictator [Vladimir] Putin in Moscow - the Putin whose brutal attack on Ukraine is the very source of the entire gas crisis. Not to mention the fact that it is Fico who has been in power most of the time and has had almost 14 years to gain independence from Russia and diversify gas supplies for Slovakia. He wasted that time, however," stressed the opposition leader.
"And when the consequences of his inaction, insults and his expensive and chaotic actions fell on the public, he left Slovakia. Instead of governing, he is sending us videos from a Vietnamese apartment that costs over €6,000 per night. Such a prime minister is really no use to Slovakia. Our task is to replace him in an election as soon as possible," added Simecka.
Source: TASR
