Ministry of Energy assesses whether Fico's threats regarding electricity exports could become reality
Photo: Herman Halushchenko, Minister of Energy of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Slovakia is unlikely to stop electricity exports to Ukraine. Such a response to the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukrainian territory is improbable, states Ukraine's Minister of Energy in an interview with Politico.
"I don't think that they would do this," said Halushchenko, commenting on the threats made by Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico to stop electricity exports to Ukraine.
The head of the Ministry of Energy pointed out that such a move would be completely contrary to EU regulations. Therefore, the Ukrainian authorities have already approached the European Commission with a request to start official consultations on this matter.
Halushchenko also clarified that Ukraine will be able to replace Slovak electricity by increasing imports from Romania and Poland. Specifically, Warsaw has already offered its assistance to Kyiv.
"If the goal (is) to make Ukraine (in) pain, it doesn’t work in this situation," emphasized the Minister of Energy.
Halushchenko pointed out that if Slovakia halts electricity exports, it will lead to a loss of "hundreds of millions of dollars" per year.
"We are talking not about some grant of electricity or supply for free — we are talking about the electricity which we pay for," the minister stressed.
Additionally, according to him, Bratislava will lose access to potentially cheaper Ukrainian electricity supplies in the future.
Fico's threats
Earlier, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico began threatening that his country could stop exporting electricity to Ukraine in response to Kyiv's decision not to extend the transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian territory.
Following this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appealed to the European Commission, urging it to respond to the blackmail by the head of the Slovak government.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Fico made these threats against Ukraine because he had received instructions from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
