The weakness, dependence and short-sightedness of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's energy policy pose a threat to the whole of Europe.
This statement was made by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to Fico's visit to Russia and meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The Foreign Ministry noted that Russia has been using energy as a weapon for many years, so the pan-European trend is ‘to abandon Russian energy carriers, increase energy independence, diversify supply sources and, as a result, increase energy security for every European family and household.’
‘A recent example of refusal from Russian gas is Austria, which for many years had no alternatives to energy supplies from Russia, but eventually found the opportunity to refuse them thanks to a wise and far-sighted government policy. Against this backdrop, the Slovak government's persistent attempts to maintain energy dependence on Moscow, despite EU policy and the joint efforts of European countries to diversify energy supplies, are surprising,’ the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry believes that during the year, the Fico government's actions were ‘actually aimed at helping Russia to continue to squeeze American and other gas from the European market, to maintain Europe's dependence and to weaken our continent’.
‘This time could have been used to resolve all existing problems and find mutually acceptable solutions in coordination with European partners and neighbours. Ukraine has repeatedly emphasised its readiness to consider the relevant requests from the European Commission, but the Slovak prime minister chose a different course,’ the Foreign Ministry said, calling on all European partners to work together to reduce dependence on Russian energy and strengthen Europe's energy security.