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(Bloomberg) — Slovakia aims to reach a solution on guarantees against the impact of a planned halt in Russian gas imports — a condition for backing the European Union’s 18th sanctions package against Moscow — by Tuesday, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday.
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Fico said he discussed the issue with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday morning, describing the talks as “extremely tough.”
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Slovakia has been blocking the adoption of the EU’s latest sanctions package against Russia for its war against Ukraine since June, insisting that the European Commission first provide guarantees to offset the potential negative impact of a separate proposal to stop Russian gas imports from 2028.
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“We want to resolve this by Tuesday because tensions are rising on all sides,” Fico told journalists in Bratislava, reiterating his opposition to cutting off Russian gas supplies. He warned that such a move would drive up energy prices and hurt Slovakia’s competitiveness.
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European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to meet on Tuesday and could vote on the new sanctions package then.
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If Slovakia doesn’t receive the necessary guarantees, it’s prepared to continue blocking the approval of sanctions, Fico said.
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Fico has called on the EU to prepare measures to ease high transit costs, provide financial support for households and industry in case of rising energy prices, and to offer legal guarantees in the event Slovakia faces arbitration from Russia’s Gazprom over a potential breach of contract — worth €16 billion ($18.7 billion).
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Slovakia, a landlocked Eastern European country that borders Ukraine, holds a long-term gas contract with Gazprom that runs through 2034. It continues to receive Russian gas via the southern route through TurkStream and Hungary. With transit through Ukraine now halted, Russian deliveries account for less than half of Slovakia’s gas imports, as the country of some 5.4 million people works to diversify its energy sources.
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(Updates with Fico comments, background from third paragraph.)
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English (US)