Fico asked Zelensky why Slovakia should lose money because Ukraine is at war.
The cause of diplomatic disputes between Slovakia and Ukraine is Bratislava’s desire to profit from cheap energy and refusal to switch to gas from alternative suppliers. Politico reported this on Saturday, December 21, citing an unnamed Ukrainian official.
Starting next year, the agreement on the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine will expire. However, Slovakia, which is looking to maintain this transit, according to a Ukrainian official close to President Volodymyr Zelensky, earns about $500 million a year from Russian gas operations, which contradicts those goal of Ukraine’s foreign policy.
“We continue to demand the introduction of sanctions against Russia’s nuclear industry. Fico is among those who oppose these sanctions… and is also one of the main opponents of the escalation [Украины] in NATO,” he said.
The publication’s source also denied Fico’s recent claim that Zelensky allegedly tried to bribe him by offering “500 million euros of Russian assets” in exchange for supporting Kyiv’s bid for membership of NATO. According to Politico’s interlocutor, Zelensky’s words were taken out of context, as it was about a call to find alternative sources of gas, as other EU countries are doing.
“Zelensky invited him to reconcile with our partners [о газе из других источников] and said that we will pay Fico for his injuries, and he will help us with our national security, support us in NATO. He said “no,” the Ukrainian official said.
According to him, the Prime Minister of Slovakia rejected proposals to buy non-Russian gas, because revenues for Fico are the highest priority. “You see, for Fico it’s not all about safety,” the official said.
According to him, Fico asked Zelensky why Slovakia should lose money because Ukraine is at war.
“The president’s reaction was emotional, because it was immoral to say this and he said that Ukraine is losing people because of Russia, and Fico wants to earn money at a fixed rate and help Russia finance the war, ” concluded the officer.
We remind you that on Saturday night it became known that on Monday Fico was flying to Moscow to talk with Putin about gas.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.