Simecka: Halting Electricity Supplies to Ukraine Would Border on Treason

Bratislava, 23 February (TASR) - It would be bordering on treason if electricity supplies to Ukraine were actually halted, opposition Progressive Party (PS) leader Michal Simecka told a news conference held in front of the residence of the state-run Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS) on Monday, calling on the company's board of directors to disobey the "order" of Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD). "Halting the transmission of electricity to Ukraine would dramatically damage Slovakia's interests," said Simecka, stressing the economic and foreign political dimensions. "As far as I know, Ukraine is the second-largest consumer of our electricity. However, other countries such as Romania and Poland are ready to compensate for any outage," he said, adding that this decision would mean a loss amounting to hundreds of millions of euros for Slovakia. According to Simecka, there's also a risk of further damage to the country's reputation as an EU member. PS vice-chair Ivan Stefunko warned that the premier's intended step wouldn't only deprive the state-owned company of profits; it would have significant consequences for the future. "Ukraine would lose interest in further cooperation with Slovakia in this area. This would be a major blow to planned investments related to cooperation with Ukraine in the coming years," warned Stefunko. He opined that the state-owned company can't afford to make a decision that would economically harm Slovakia. He and Simecka therefore called on the SEPS board not to yield to pressure from Fico. PS presidium member Ivan Korcok stated that Slovakia by its stance has prepared a "special gift" for Ukraine to mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the aggression against Slovakia's eastern neighbour. "Hungary, but also Slovakia, are preparing to block the 20th package of sanctions against Russia. The European Union wanted to adopt it symbolically on the fourth anniversary of the Russian aggression. This, along with the threats that we'll halt electricity supplies, is a special Slovak gift to Ukraine on the anniversary of the shameful Russian aggression," stated Korcok, adding that the EU is evidently losing patience with the Slovak premier. Fico announced in a video posted on social media on Sunday (22 February) evening that he's scheduled to visit SEPS later on Monday and ask it to halt emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine due to the suspension of Russian oil transit through Ukrainian territory to Slovakia and Hungary. ko/df