Ukraine president’s criticism comes as Kyiv is anticipated to cease transit of Russian gasoline to Slovakia as deliberate on January 1.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico of opening a “second vitality entrance” in opposition to Kyiv on the orders of Moscow, deepening an already tense dispute over transfers of Russian gasoline to Europe.
Ukraine pumps Russian pure gasoline by means of its territory to a number of European international locations, together with Slovakia, Moldova and Hungary.
However it’s anticipated to halt the circulation when an current transit deal, which was signed earlier than Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, expires on the finish of the yr.
Fico, who visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week, mentioned on Friday that Slovakia would take into account reciprocal measures in opposition to Ukraine – resembling halting back-up electrical energy provides – if Kyiv cuts off the transfers as of January 1.
“It seems that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second vitality entrance in opposition to Ukraine on the expense of the Slovak folks’s pursuits,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media submit on Saturday.
It seems that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second vitality entrance in opposition to Ukraine on the expense of the Slovak folks’s pursuits. Fico’s threats to chop off Ukraine’s emergency energy provide this winter whereas Russia assaults our energy vegetation and vitality grid can solely be…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 28, 2024
“Fico’s threats to chop off Ukraine’s emergency energy provide this winter whereas Russia assaults our energy vegetation and vitality grid can solely be defined by this,” he mentioned, including that Fico was “dragging Slovakia into Russia’s makes an attempt to trigger extra struggling for Ukrainians”.
Slovakia desires to take care of Russian gasoline provides by way of Ukraine, saying various routes would hike prices and hurt its transit operations whereas inflicting the nation to lose 500 million euros ($521m) in charges.
Kyiv has mentioned it is not going to signal any new deal for gasoline transit with Moscow because the warfare between the 2 international locations drags on.
The Ukrainian authorities has been compelled to import electrical energy from a number of of its neighbours since Russia started hitting its energy grid in late 2022, damaging or destroying a lot of the nation’s non-nuclear era capability.
Russian gasoline accounted for lower than 10 % of the European Union’s gas imports in 2023. In 2021, a yr earlier than the Ukraine invasion started, it made up greater than 40 %.
Nonetheless, EU members in Japanese Europe nonetheless rely largely on Russian gasoline for geographical and political causes.
Zelenskyy mentioned Slovakia at present accounted for 19 % of Ukraine’s energy imports, and that Kyiv was working with its EU neighbours to bolster the availability.
“Slovakia is a part of the only European vitality market and Fico should respect widespread European guidelines,” the Ukrainian president mentioned on Saturday.
In the meantime, Slovakia’s prime minister mentioned on Friday his nation might function a gathering place for attainable talks on ending the warfare in Ukraine.
Fico is one in every of solely a handful of European leaders who’ve remained near the Kremlin, and his meeting with Putin in Moscow on December 22 provoked an offended response from Ukraine.
“If anybody turns to us and is thinking about organising peace talks in Slovakia concerning the battle between Ukraine and Russia, they will rely on our hospitality,” Fico mentioned in a video message revealed on Fb.
Fico mentioned he had mentioned the proposal with Putin throughout his shock go to to the Russian capital and was happy with the constructive response.
