Fico's short-sighted energy policy poses threats to Europe: Foreign Ministry on Slovak Prime Minister's visit to Russia
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry criticized Slovak Prime Minister Fico's visit to Moscow and his energy policy. The ministry emphasized the importance of abandoning Russian energy carriers and diversifying supplies for European security.
The weakness, dependence, and short-sightedness of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's energy policy pose threats to the whole of Europe. This is stated in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the talks of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Moscow, UNN reports.
The diplomatic mission reminded 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.
Against this backdrop, the pan-European trend is to abandon Russian energy carriers, increase energy independence, diversify supply sources, and, as a result, increase energy security for every European family and household.
A recent example of refusal from Russian gas is Austria, which for many years had no alternatives to energy supplies from Russia, but eventually found the opportunity to refuse them thanks to a wise and far-sighted government policy.
"Against this backdrop, the Slovak government's persistent attempts to maintain energy dependence on Moscow, despite EU policy and the joint efforts of European countries to diversify energy supplies, are surprising.
Throughout the year, its actions were actually aimed at helping Russia continue to squeeze American and other gas from the European market, keeping Europe dependent and weakening our continent.
This time could have been used to resolve all existing problems and find mutually acceptable solutions in coordination with European partners and neighbors. Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized its readiness to consider the relevant requests from the European Commission, but the Prime Minister of Slovakia chose a different course," the statement reads.
In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Ukraine pays the highest price - the price of human lives - for deterring Russian aggression and protecting European homes, including Slovak ones, from Russian killers.
"We will not accept the shameful policy of appeasement, which has already proved to be a mistake in the last century. The Slovak side should remember this better than anyone else. We call on all European partners to work together to reduce dependence on Russian energy and strengthen Europe's energy security," the ministry summarized.
AddendumAddendum
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said that his visit to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow was a response to Ukraine's reluctance to continue transiting Russian gas to Europe.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda criticized the visit of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to Russia.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the gas issue, noting that during the Brussels summit, EU leaders noted that Fico "does not want to participate in joint European work on energy independence or look for a replacement for Russian gas.
