Slovakia may consider retaliatory measures against Ukraine if it does not allow gas transit from russia to Europe, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said he was stunned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to allow flows after the two leaders spoke at a summit in Brussels. Zelensky said Ukraine would not transit Russian-origin gas unless it had guarantees that the Kremlin would not benefit financially while the war continued.
That leaves importers such as Slovakia with few options to keep the route open. The country has proposed several alternatives, such as changing ownership of the gas before it reaches Ukraine, but Zelensky dismissed those ideas as "games", Fitzo told reporters late Thursday night.
While Europe as a whole is unlikely to suffer significant damage if russia's flows through Ukraine cease after the end of this year, Slovakia is among the few countries still dependent on these imports, and the country has warned of possible financial damage.
Fitzo questioned whether Ukraine has "the right to damage the economic and national interests of an individual EU member state" in these circumstances. If Kiev does not allow gas transit, it will consider during Christmas whether to take retaliatory measures against Ukraine, he said.
Slovakia is currently sending electricity, humanitarian aid and private arms shipments, including ammunition, to Ukraine. The Fitzo-led government has refused to send military aid from its own reserves and has also refused to support Ukraine's NATO membership. It has also tried to maintain friendly relations with moscow and has criticized the U.S. and most European Union countries' involvement in the war through military support for Ukraine.
Slovakia's prime minister said he wanted to continue talks with the European Commission over the next three to four days in an attempt to find "arguments regarding Ukraine". He also said that his discussions with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal were more constructive and he was surprised by Zelensky's "direct" words.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said Thursday that he was aware of Slovakia's financial problems, but added that "it's a bit embarrassing to talk about money because we are losing people.