Fico: The issue of Russian gas is a matter of geographical and technical reality

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) expressed his conviction on Thursday that common ground would be found with the United States regarding pressure to end purchases of Russian energy.

Fico defended continued supplies from Moscow, noting that Slovakia's payments accounted for about two percent of Russia's oil revenues. He also claimed that these purchases had no impact on the financing of the war in Ukraine.

According to him, this is not an ideological issue, but a geographical and technical reality. In Fico's view, Slovakia has no alternatives that are available in the short term, reliable, and acceptable in terms of price, while switching to other sources would be expensive and require large-scale adaptation of the existing infrastructure.

Fico also mentioned the lack of access to gas terminals and the allegedly technologically unproven nature of alternative routes such as the Adriatic pipeline.

He emphasized that Slovakia was seeking the understanding of the US, which was exerting pressure to end imports of Russian energy.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently spoke with Donald Trump on the phone about this issue. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also stated that without Russian resources, Hungary's energy security could not be guaranteed.

(reuters, sie)