Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's threats to cut off electricity supplies to Kyiv won't work, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in a Dec. 31 interview with Politico.
Halushchenko's statement follows Fico's declaration on Dec. 27 that his government would consider halting electricity supplies to Ukraine, after Kyiv announced it would not extend the deal on transit of Russian gas to Europe beyond Dec. 31.
Halushchenko said that Ukraine could compensate for any disruption by importing electricity from Romania and Poland, and that Fico's potential actions would "violate EU regulations."
The statement echoed President Volodymyr Zelensky's remarks on Dec. 21, in which he directly addressed Fico's threats.
"Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or instructions from Moscow to Fico regarding electricity will not lead to a halt in electricity imports to Ukraine," Zelensky said, adding: "Slovakia is part of the unified European energy market, and Fico must abide by pan-European regulations."
Halushchenko also said that cutting off electricity supplies would primarily harm Slovakia's own economy.
"This is not about receiving subsidies or free electricity. We pay for the electricity we receive," he said, estimating that halting exports could cost Slovakia "hundreds of millions of dollars" annually.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry echoed these sentiments in a Dec. 28 press briefing, stressing that "Slovakia's supply of critical amounts of electricity to Ukraine is not charity: Ukraine pays Slovakia a significant amount for it."
The ministry also criticized Fico’s rhetoric, saying: "By making senseless threats to cut off Ukraine's electricity, which it buys and does not receive as a gift, Prime Minister Robert Fico is effectively aligning himself with the Russian dictator."
Fico held talks with Putin on Dec. 22 during a visit to Moscow, during which they discussed gas transit, the war in Ukraine and the standardization of "mutual relations" between Russia and Slovakia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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