Foreign Ministry on Fico’s threats: Slovakia’s electricity supply is not charity, Ukraine pays lot of money for it
Foreign Ministry on Fico's threatsThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has responded to the threats of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine.
This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Censor.NET reports.
"We would like to remind Prime Minister Robert Fico that Slovakia's supply of critical volumes of electricity to Ukraine is not a charity: Ukraine pays Slovakia a lot of money for it.
Our state has always been self-sufficient in electricity production, and now it is sometimes forced to import it only because of Russian crimes - the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, constant and targeted missile attacks on our civilian infrastructure, power system, generation facilities and distribution networks," the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that with these statements, Fico is actually siding with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
"By making ridiculous threats to cut off electricity to Ukraine, which it buys, not receives as a gift, Prime Minister Robert Fico is actually siding with the Russian dictator. These are now the only two figures in the world who threaten to leave Ukrainians without electricity in the winter.
Robert Fico's actual confession of his desire to oust American and other energy carriers from the European market in the interests of maintaining European countries' dependence on Russia also points to joint work with Putin," the Foreign Ministry added.
The Foreign Ministry expressed the belief that in the interests of the Slovak people, the Slovak government should work with its neighbors and the whole of Europe to diversify energy supplies, in particular, to negotiate gas supplies from the United States, rather than rely on continued dependence on Russia and the policy of displacing American and other energy resources from Europe.
"We remind you that Slovakia is a part of the single European energy market and must adhere to common European rules. We call on the European Commission, in cooperation with ENTSO-E, to respond to Slovak threats of arbitrary decisions," the statement added.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had instructed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine, drawing Slovakia into the mix.
What was the background?
Fico's statement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on December 19 that Ukraine would not continue transiting Russian gas, although he noted that he might consider transporting gas from other sources, provided that Russia does not receive funds until the war ends. Zelenskyy also emphasized his readiness for negotiations with the EU and member states on new supplies.
Earlier, the Hungarian company MOL Group agreed to transport Russian oil through Belarus and Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary. At the same time, Slovakia has announced its intention to continue negotiations with the EU, Ukraine, and other countries to secure gas supplies if the contract with Russia, which includes transit through Ukraine, is not extended.
