Slovak PM Fico writes letter to EU leaders complaining about Zelenskyy over gas transit shutdown

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has written a letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in which he again complains about Ukraine's refusal to continue transiting Russian gas after 2024.

Source: Fico published the open letter on his social media, as reported by European Pravda

Details: In the letter, the Slovak prime minister writes to EU leaders that "tacit acceptance of the unilateral decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is wrong and irrational."

He also notes that it will "lead to tensions and retaliatory measures".

"There is no doubt that the unilateral decision of the Ukrainian president will have a significant negative impact on our common European efforts to keep pace with the world's fastest-growing countries," Fico wrote.

He stated that he did not know whether the "vague  approach" of the European Commission and most member states was based on the fact that the economic consequences of stopping gas transit through Ukraine "have not been analysed professionally at all and have been assessed only ideologically", or whether such an analysis had been carried out but not discussed openly with member states.

In the letter, Fico argues that stopping gas transit would harm the EU more than Russia, citing "objective and convincing documents" from the Slovak oil and gas company SPP.

In conclusion, the Slovak prime minister called on EU leaders to "pay due attention to this unprecedented situation and give it urgent attention".

Background:

• Slovakia has repeatedly tried to achieve an extension of the agreement between Ukraine and Russia on the transit of Russian gas, which is due to expire in 2024.
• On 19 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine was not considering renewing the agreement with Gazprom on the transit of Russian gas to Europe and made it clear that Kyiv would not agree to pump Russian gas under the guise of Azerbaijani gas.
• Against this backdrop, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made a controversial visit to Russia, where he met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
• The Slovak prime minister also threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine.

Support UP or become our patron!