Fico: EC Declaration on Energy Network Language that Zelenskyy Understands

Bratislava, January 28 (TASR) - The European Commission's (EC) declaration concerning the protection of the critical energy network is serious, as the EC is starting to put pressure on Ukraine regarding gas transit, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) during a meeting of the parliamentary economic affairs committee on Tuesday. Fico pointed out that the EC, in its declaration, expects third countries to respect that this is a question of the EU's security. "This is a language that [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy understands. He knows that if we halt all sanctions against Russia, he will face the risk of not receiving a single euro from the EU," added the premier. Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) on Monday (January 27) welcomed a statement by EU chief of diplomacy Kaja Kallas that the EC has supported Slovakia and Hungary when it comes to protecting their critical energy network. Following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on the same day, he also praised Kiev's willingness to transport natural gas from other sources than those in Russia to Europe. ko/df