Danko: Economic Issues and End of War in Ukraine Dominated Talks in Russia

Bratislava, January 17 (TASR) - During its two days in Russia, the Slovak parliamentary delegation met two government members, Denis Manturov and Sergey Lavrov, State Duma head Vyacheslav Volodin, and speaker of the Federation Council [the upper house of the Russian Parliament], Valentina Matviyenko to discuss economic issues, mainly concerning the halt to gas supplies, as well as the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine, said House Vice-chair Andrej Danko (Slovak National Party/SNS) in an interview for Russian news agency TASS, as reported by TASR. Representatives of Parliament completed negotiations begun by Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, at the parliamentary level, stated Danko. Danko ascribed the opposition's criticism that negotiations with Russians haven't brought any results to its incompetence and an inability to judge the context. "I probably should have brought a nesting doll to [Progressive Slovakia MP Tomas] Valasek so that he could see the results. These things aren't born overnight," he said. Danko said that it's not normal to talk about purchasing more expensive French nuclear fuel if this ultimately comes from Russia anyway. According to the SNS leader, liquefied Russian gas is also imported to Slovakia via intermediaries. "They openly confirmed to us in Russia that American and Western companies that supply us with liquefied gas buy it from them," said the House vice-chair. According to Danko, the gas price for households in Slovakia has remained at its current level only thanks to massive subsidies from the state, which has to borrow for them. "Just because you're not paying a higher price for gas now doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist," he stated. Danko said that responsible politicians must seek ways now to stabilise the gas situation in the coming years. "Don't ask me to say anything more about the opposition than that they simply don't understand governance. The people who ruled here with ['Slovakia' leader and former premier Igor] Matovic in 2020-2023 spent €20 billion and put Slovakia in debt," he stated. Concerning his talks with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, the SNS leader said that he was interested in the prospects of peace negotiations on ending the conflict in Ukraine. "I have had an above-standard relationship with Mr. Lavrov for years, so it was obvious that I would contact him when I was there," said Danko, who claimed that during their meeting he reiterated that some of the peace negotiations could take place in Bratislava. ko/df