Slovakia pushes back on pressure over Russia energy purchases

Slovakia, on Wednesday, resisted pressure to reduce its purchases of Russian gas, saying that it was willing to discuss the matter, but pointed out certain European states who increased their purchases.

Both Slovakia and Hungary, both EU member states, are led by populists who have maintained political ties with Russia. Russia supplies most of their oil requirements, and they have argued it would be costly to stop using Russian supplies once their infrastructure has been built around them.

They have come under more pressure in the past couple of weeks after U.S. president Donald Trump stated that he wants to see the EU completely stop its Russian energy purchases.

This prompted the EU's 19th package of sanctions against Russia, with the goal of eliminating all Russian energy imports before the beginning of 2027.

In an interview conducted on the sidelines the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Juraj Blnar said: "We have no other options that could be both sustainable and affordable."

It takes time to diversify. We are therefore calling for a certain level of empathy, adding that sanctions have not changed the course of this war.

In an effort to cripple Russia's economy, the West has imposed sanctions worth tens and thousands of dollars on Russia for its three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine and its 2014 annexation Crimea.

Blanar's country, which has held packages up before a final compromise was reached, warned that Slovakia could lose 10 billion euro if some contracts, which run until 2034, were broken.

HYPOCRISY

He suggested that possible compensation in the future and exemptions should be considered. He also stated that the bloc should address high electricity prices.

Blanar said that criticizing Slovakia was hypocritical, as the purchases of liquefied gas from Russia for Western Europe increased by 30% in the past year.

He said: "France... Spain... and the Netherlands... can you see that the picture is more colourful than in black and white?"

Blanar rejected categorisations that Slovakia or Hungary were the "black sheep" in Europe because they continued to engage with Moscow. He argued that there was no military solution to this war, and that Trump himself had shown that it was important to engage with Moscow.

"Any change in internationally recognized borders that is forced upon the Slovak Republic will be unacceptable. We have been saying from the beginning that there was no military solution to this war. "Let's move forward with any diplomatic efforts," he said.

"We've been asking for this for over three and a quarter years." "If it wasn't for Trump, peace negotiations would not have begun." (Reporting and editing by John Irish)

(source: Reuters)