Fico: I'd Like to See Early Agreement with EC on Issue of Russian Gas Cut-off

Bratislava, 10 July (TASR) - Slovakia continues to refuse to vote in favour of the 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions and is making the vote contingent on resolving concerns about the price of gas, its sufficiency and compensation for the damage that will be caused by stopping the flow of Russian gas as of 1 January 2028, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) posted on a social network on Thursday. Fico added, however, that he hopes for an early agreement with the European Commission (EC) that would lead to a modification of the proposal to stop the flow of Russian gas that would protect Slovakia from the worst possible consequences. "Slovakia is a sovereign country, and I can't allow unnecessary ideological gestures, such as stopping Russian gas, to cause our country enormous damage. Yes, I must acknowledge that the European Commission is trying to find a solution for Slovakia. We are close to an agreement on some unresolved issues, we are still far away on others," said the prime minister. A delegation of the European Commission came to Slovakia last week to discuss plans to stop importing Russian energy with representatives of business and the state. Fico added that as Slovakia is a member state of the European Union and NATO, not everything that comes out of these organisations can be rejected. On the other hand, he stressed that he won't agree to everything just so that Slovakia doesn't stand out from the crowd. Slovakia's rejection of the 18th sanctions package against Russia has provoked strong reactions from a number of foreign politicians in recent days. According to the premier, it's impossible to work under pressure and in an atmosphere of unnecessarily strong words and statements. On Wednesday (9 July), the ambassador in Brussels was instructed by the government not to support the 18th sanctions package. am/df