SaS: Premier Fico Has Made Slovakia Laughing Stock in Eyes of Europe

Bratislava, January 2 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Thursday criticised Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) for making Slovakia a "laughing stock" in Europe due to his stance on the end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine and his visit to Moscow, while it accused Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) of remaining silent in this situation. "Robert Fico has known about the stoppage of gas supplies via Ukraine for a long time, but he's been unable to do anything during his entire year in office. Now he's shamefully lying and slandering our neighbour, which is facing Russian aggression. The termination of gas transport through Ukraine is based on the proper termination of a contract between Russia and Ukraine. Since the beginning of Russia's aggression, it's been publicly communicated that as of January 1, 2025, it will not be possible to use the route through the warzone of Ukraine for transporting Russian gas to Slovakia and Europe. In the end, the Ukrainians would have been acting against themselves if they had extended the contract with Gazprom, which allows Vladimir Putin to receive money to bomb and kill them," said SaS leader Branislav Groehling. SaS MP Karol Galek has also commented on the situation. "If the government wanted to negotiate the continuation of gas transport through the territory of Ukraine, it should have gone to Kiev. However, Fico clearly didn't have the guts to do this and instead preferred to find reasons to insult President Volodymyr Zelensky and side with Vladimir Putin. The fact that he hasn't arranged anything is only proof that he's nothing but a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda and that his pandering to a war criminal was merely a show for his voters. In fact, they've tarnished Slovakia's name in the eyes of the entire democratic world. Moreover, Denisa Sakova has been a silent spectator of this theatrical performance all along," he stated. According to Galek, the premier was also lying when he said that Russian gas is cheap. The price of gas is determined by its availability, and the Russians are currently unable to provide it to Slovakia. The party noted that there are other options for gas supplies, such as from the Czech Republic or Germany. lin/df