“The billions of euros from Russian gas are being used to kill civilians in Ukraine,” Zelensky said in response to Fico’s mission, to keep Russian gas supplies, adding that “when Slovakia says they can lose money or that it will be expensive to buy non-Russian gas, Ukraine has lost much more – we’re losing people”.

Slovakia can secure non-Russian supplies
In detail ( apologies for the length of this, it shows Fico who often parrots Kremlin speech, is not that dependent on Russia's gas after all, because Slovakia itself has alternative suppliers )

Slovak analysts argue that the country can adapt to the end of Russian pipeline supplies and that Fico’s stance has more to do with his close political ties with Orban and Putin, the cosy private business links that both countries continue to have with Russia, and his domestic political problems, rather than energy security.

Slovakia has already demonstrated the ability to get through the winter without Russian gas, Slovakia’s energy analysts point out. Slovak gas reserves are currently three quarters full.

Slovakia’s continued imports of Russian energy is “not a question of energy security”, Alexander Duleba, senior research fellow at the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA), told bne IntelliNews, explaining that Slovakia will have a sufficient amount of gas. Duleba highlights that Slovakia survived the last winter practically without Russian imports.

“The consumption of Russian gas fell from 100% in the winter of 2021-22 to 8% in the winter of 2022-23”, he says, pointing out that the country imported 35% of gas from Norway via Czechia and Germany, while securing another 30% from LNG imports.

Additionally, this was accomplished without the capacities provided by the Polish Świnoujście LNG terminal, which completed its expansion in 2023, opening another route for imports to Slovakia.

Slovakia and its energy companies – including the state gas group SPP and gas transporter Eustream, where EPH of Czech energy and media oligarch Daniel Křetínský has a 49% stake and managerial control – “managed to secure a sufficient amount of gas” without Russia, Duleba says, adding that now Slovakia has a contract with Norway is extended, “so at least 35% can be imported from Norway”.

Radovan Potočár, editor-in-chief of the Slovak energy-focused outlet Energie Portal, says that Fico’s stance is mainly for political reasons. He told bne Intellinews in Bratislava last month that ultimately the government has the tools to intervene in energy price policy.

“Fico does not have to point a finger at Ukraine, he wants to do that,” Potočár observes.

In mid-December, Fico’s cabinet confirmed it will continue subsidising energy prices, and Saková’s ministry estimated the additional costs of subsidising energy prices will amount to €291.5mn.

bne Intellinews.

🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦 Liz