Slovakia could stop electricity supplies to Ukraine if Kiev stops re-routing Russian gas to EU countries, said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The central European country, whose economy is heavily reliant on Russian gas, is supplied through Soviet-era pipelines that run through Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Schmygal had announced earlier this month that Kiev would stop re-routing Russian gas by 2025 and use its pipeline system only to transport gas from alternative suppliers. The current contract with Moscow ends on December 31, and Kiev has said it will not renew it.
“After January 1, we will assess the situation and consider possible countermeasures against Ukraine” Fico said in a Facebook video message. “If necessary, we will end the electricity supply that Ukraine needs urgently during power outages.” He added that Bratislava might also consider other countermeasures.
“Ending the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine is not just a hollow political gesture. It’s an extremely costly step, one that we in the European Union will have to pay for” Fico said. On Facebook, he wrote that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, by not renewing the transit contract, will cause “multibillion-euro losses in the EU, including in the Slovak Republic, and further reduce the competitiveness of the EU.”
Before his trip to Moscow, Zelensky had offered to compensate Slovakia for the 500 million euros it would lose in transit fees if Ukraine stops re-routing gas, using frozen Russian assets, foreign money. Fico had declined the offer.
Ukrainian representatives have criticized Fico’s recent visit to Moscow, saying that the “pro-Russian stance” of Slovakia and Hungary undermines the EU’s reputation and erodes the determination of states to help Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin this week said that the end of the transit contract would “punish” EU countries, as the EU would still struggle with an energy crisis. Putin emphasized:
“We have always stood for deliveries, for the depoliticization of economic issues. We have never refused to supply Europe.”
Kiev has not officially responded to the possible countermeasures by Slovakia. Bloomberg quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that Ukraine’s “countermove” could be to stop re-routing Russian oil to Slovakia as well.