Fico: In Brussels, I'll Address Zelenskyy's Sabotage of Our Financial Interests

Bratislava, January 8 (TASR) - I want to address in Brussels on Thursday (January 9) the damage worth almost €1.5 billion, which Ukraine caused to Slovakia by stopping gas transit, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said in a video posted on social media on Wednesday, adding that this was also the reason why he travelled to Moscow. "President Zelenskyy is sabotaging the financial interests of Slovakia and the EU despite the fact that the European Commission clearly states in its official letter that there is nothing preventing Ukraine from continuing transit. Neither European law nor sanctions," said Fico, adding that Zelenskyy's decision will cause the EU some €70 billion worth of damage. "I'm travelling to Brussels tomorrow to meet the energy commissioner and I'll do everything I can to wake him up from his sweet sleep. Because we have a 'bloody' serious problem - a problem in the tens of billions of euros. Neither Slovakia nor the EU is at war, we have no reason to tolerate Zelenskyy's adventures, especially looking at the aid Slovakia and the EU are providing to Ukraine," stressed the premier. The reason why he travelled to Moscow, he said, was the stoppage of gas transit via Ukraine and the damage to Slovakia's national and financial interests. "I needed to ensure at least gas for Slovakia's domestic consumption, which we ensured, even without raised gas prices," he said, adding that he also wanted an answer to whether Russia was ready to continue supplying gas for transit through Ukraine and Slovakia further west. The answer, he said, was in the affirmative. Fico also criticised the opposition's proposal to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session on Slovakia's foreign policy orientation. The prime minister will advise Smer-SD MPs not to participate in this opposition initiative. "Neither in Moscow nor in Brussels is it about Slovakia's foreign policy orientation. It is given, although looking at the EU, I fear that it will fall apart sooner than we can imagine. The opposition should therefore stop bothering with the obligatory rhetorical exercises and take a clear stance on President Zelenskyy's harmful decisions," stated Fico. am/mcs