Slovakia: Fico Urgently Arrives in Moscow to Discuss Russian Gas with Putin
Slovakia imports three billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russian gas giant Gazprom, thus covering most of its domestic demand
Now it’s official: at 9:00 on January 1, 2025, Ukraine will close the tap on the pipeline that for decades has transported Russian natural gas to Ukraine itself and European countries. The decree was signed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal and approved by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Consumers in landlocked Eastern Europe, from Hungary to Serbia, will be left in poverty, and the country that will suffer most will be Slovakia, which imports three billion cubic meters of natural gas each year from Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, thus covering most of its domestic demand.
In recent months, as the end of transit approaches, Slovakia has stepped up diplomatic efforts to ensure that energy flows to the country are not interrupted.
All to no avail. Ukraine will no longer allow Russian gas transit through its territory after the end of this year, Zelensky said on Thursday, December 19, after a meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels. And this is despite the fact that Kiev is constantly earning billions of dollars in revenues by passing Russian gas through its territory.
And on Monday, December 23, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will travel to Moscow for an emergency summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two leaders will discuss alternative routes for Russian gas supplies. “If there is someone who will prevent the transit of gas to the Slovak Republic, if there is someone who will cause gas prices to rise across Europe, if there is someone who will cause enormous economic damage to the European Union, it is President Zelensky,” Fico thundered at a particularly heated press conference following a summit of European leaders in Brussels, during which ZelenskY announced the final “stoppage” of Russian gas transit through Ukraine.
According to many political analysts, Kiev’s radical decision was proposed and supported by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who thus wants to “put in line,” or rather “bring to their knees,” the EU countries that are too “pro-Russian,” namely Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia.
