Fico: I Repeated Slovakia's Principled Positions on Gas Transits to Olaf Scholz

Bratislava, January 17 (TASR) - The decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop the transit of gas through Ukraine significantly hurts Slovakia and causes damage worth billions to the entire EU, and if this won't change, Slovakia will embrace reciprocal measures, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) reiterated in his telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, TASR learnt from the Government Office on Friday. "At the request of the German side, I had a telephone conversation in the afternoon today with German Chancellor Scholz. The subject was the supply and transit of gas. Without publishing Olaf Scholz's statements, I repeated to the German Chancellor the principled stances of the Slovak Government. The decision taken by Zelenskyy to stop the transit of gas through Ukraine significantly hurts Slovakia and causes damage worth billions to the entire EU. If there is no change in the decision of President Zelenskyy, Slovakia will embrace reciprocal measures," stated Fico. The Prime Minister also informed Scholz about his counter-proposal to have a meeting with Zelenskyy on Tuesday (January 21) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to Fico, the Ukrainian President hasn't yet responded to this offer. "Our meeting in Davos can resolve the future of Slovak-Ukrainian ties," added Fico. mf/mcs