By Jan Lopatka
(Reuters) – Slovakia’s coalition government will discuss retaliatory measures that could be taken against Ukraine after it cut off the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday.
Fico said in a video message on Facebook (NASDAQ:) that his Smer party would consider cutting off electricity supplies to Ukraine, cutting aid to Ukrainian refugees and demanding the renewal of gas transit or compensation for the losses he said Slovakia has suffered as a result of the end of Russian gas flows.
Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year’s Day, marking the end of decades of Moscow’s dominance over European energy markets, when a transit contract between Russia and Ukraine expired.
Slovakia has alternative gas supplies, but Fico, who has ended military aid to Ukraine and sought warmer relations with Moscow, says Slovakia will lose its own transit revenues and pay extra transit fees to bring in non-Russian gas. He also said that European gas and electricity prices would rise as a result of Ukraine’s actions.
Fico said a Slovak delegation would discuss the situation in Brussels next Tuesday and that his ruling coalition would then discuss retaliation for what he called “sabotage” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I declare (my Smer-SSD party) readiness to debate and agree in the coalition on cutting off electricity supply and on a significant reduction in support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia,” Fico said.
“The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is to renew transit or demand compensation mechanisms that will compensate for the loss of public finances of almost 500 million euros.”
Zelenskiy accused Fico last week of opening a “second energy front” against Ukraine on Russia’s orders.
Slovakia’s majority state-owned gas transit network operator Eustream had a turnover of 158 million euros and a profit after tax of 25 million euros in the six months to January 31 last year, the latest period it posted on its website reported.
Slovakia’s state gas importer SPP, which covers about two-thirds of Slovakia’s demand, said on Wednesday it would face around 90 million euros in additional costs, mainly in transit fees, if it replaced all Russian gas this year.
Slovakia, which borders Ukraine to the east, exported 2.4 million megawatt hours of electricity in the first eleven months of 2024 to Ukraine, which has suffered shortages due to Russian bombing, data from the Slovak grid operator shows.
