Fico chooses dependence on Russia – Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

What preceded it

Fico traveled to Moscow on December 22 for a meeting with Putin.

The possible purpose of his trip is that Ukraine has refused to continue gas transit to Europe. Supplies will stop as early as January 1, 2025.

Fico later said that the position of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who does not want to continue the transit of Russian gas, harms Slovakia.

Reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

The Ministry stated that Russia has been using energy as a weapon for many years. For Moscow, it is a political lever, an instrument of humiliation and threats to sovereign states, a source of corruption, dependence, and blackmail in cooperation with foreign politicians.

That is why European countries are now rejecting Russian energy carriers and increasing their energy independence. Austria, for example, recently rejected importing Russian gas.

The actions of the head of the Slovak government aimed at maintaining energy dependence on Moscow contradict EU policy and joint efforts to diversify supplies. This time could have been used to solve problems in coordination with European partners, but Slovakia chose a different course, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

"Ukraine is paying the highest price — the price of human lives — for deterring Russian aggression and protecting European homes, including Slovak ones, from Russian murderers. We will not accept the shameful policy of appeasement, which has already proven its fallacy in the last century. The Slovak side should remember this better than others," the Ministry said.

The Ukrainian President noted that discounts on gas from Russia are usually paid with sovereignty or shadow schemes.