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(Bloomberg) — Slovakia’s economy minister signaled that the European Union member state would resist pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut Russian oil and gas imports until the country has sufficient alternative supplies.
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“Before we can fully commit, we need to have the right conditions in place — otherwise we risk seriously damaging our industry and economy,” Denisa Sakova told reporters in Bratislava on Wednesday.
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The minister said sufficient infrastructure must first be in place to support alternative routes. The comments pushed back on fresh pressure from Trump for all EU states to end Russian energy imports, a move that would hit Slovakia and Hungary.
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Sakova said she made clear Slovakia’s position during talks with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Vienna this week. She said the Trump official expressed understanding, while acknowledging that the US must boost energy projects in Europe.
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Trump said over the weekend that he’s prepared to move ahead with “major” sanctions on Russian oil if European nations do the same. The government in Bratislava is prepared to shut its Russian energy links if it has sufficient infrastructure to transport volumes, Sakova said.
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“As long as we have an alternative route, and the transmission capacity is sufficient, Slovakia has no problem diversifying,” the minister said. A complete cutoff of Russian supplies would pose a risk, she said, because Slovakia is located at the very end of alternative supply routes coming from the West.
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EU Grapples With How to Navigate Trump’s Demands on Russian Oil
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Slovakia, a landlocked nation state bordering Ukraine, has historically depended on Russian oil and gas. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it launched several diversification initiatives.
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Slovakia imports around third of its oil from non-Russian sources via the Adria pipeline through the Balkan region and Hungary — and has secured a series of flexible contracts with Western gas suppliers.
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Still, officials around Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has maintained his links to the Kremlin and visited Moscow, view Russian supplies as strategically important.
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