Slovakia and Hungary have signaled that they will resist pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut imports of Russian oil and gas until EU member states find sufficient alternative suppliers, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
"Before we can make full commitments, we need to create the right conditions, otherwise we risk seriously harming our industry and economy," Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova told reporters in Bratislava on Wednesday.
The Slovak minister stated that sufficient infrastructure must first be created to support alternative routes.
Sakova said she clearly outlined Slovakia's position during talks with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Vienna this week. She noted that the Trump administration official expressed understanding, acknowledging the need to intensify US energy projects in Europe.
Over the weekend, Trump said he was ready to impose "serious" sanctions on Russian oil if European countries followed suit. The government in Bratislava is ready to close its energy channels with Russia if it has sufficient infrastructure to transport the volumes, Sakova said.
"As long as we have an alternative route and sufficient capacity, Slovakia sees no problem with diversification," the minister said. A complete cessation of Russian supplies would pose a risk, she added, as Slovakia is located at the end of alternative supply routes from the West.
Hungarian government minister Gergely Gulyás confirmed that his country would reject EU initiatives that threaten the security of its energy supply.
Hungary considers EU sanctions against Russia ineffective and will continue to block steps that threaten its supplies, Gulyás said at a press conference in Budapest.
"When it directly contradicts Hungarian interests, for example, in matters of energy procurement, we will veto it," Gulyás said.
As the publication notes, such statements are a counteraction to new pressure from Trump, who calls on all EU states to stop importing Russian energy carriers.
Addition
Slovakia and Hungary, landlocked countries bordering Ukraine, have historically depended on Russian oil and gas. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both countries launched a series of initiatives to diversify supplies.
Slovakia imports about a third of its oil from non-Russian sources via the Adria pipeline, which runs through the Balkan region and Hungary, and has concluded a number of flexible contracts with Western gas suppliers. However, officials close to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has maintained ties with the Kremlin and visited Moscow, consider Russian supplies strategically important, the publication notes.