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Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said his government is engaged in “very intense” negotiations over natural-gas supplies for next year, including on the transit of the fuel through Ukrainian territory.
“We are holding very intense talks at an international level on gas supplies in 2025,” Fico told a press conference on Friday. “There are many hurdles, such as political statements by the Ukrainian side, the pressure for suspension of supplies from the East to the West, proposals on gas deliveries that are much more expensive,” he said.
Fico said Slovakia will rebuff pressure to only accept gas supplies from the West. “We see no reasons to pay for gas more than required due to geopolitical reasons,” the prime minister said.
“I am confident that a solution can be found for [gas supplies] to several EU countries with gas transit via the territory of Slovakia and Ukraine maintained,” Fico said.
“In the coming days, including during the Christmas holidays, you may witness exceptionally intense negotiations at various levels and in different countries, starting as early as next week,” Fico said.
The EU’s new energy chief, meanwhile, expects the gas-transit deal to expire and says his “main priority” is to develop a plan that will finally sever all EU energy links with Russia. Dan Jørgensen, who started in the role at the beginning of December, warned that the EU is faltering in its campaign to shun Russian fuel and an initiative is needed to get things back on track.
“To have been able to bring down our dependency to such an extent that we have is actually quite an accomplishment,” Jørgensen told POLITICO in an interview earlier this week.
Slovakia’s Fico, along with Hungary’s Viktor Órban, has historically opposed new energy restrictions.
“We are preparing for the situation that [the gas-transit deal] will finish and … it’s one more reason why it’s important for us to have this roadmap very soon,” he said, echoing the EU executive’s long-running position on the 2019 Moscow-Kyiv deal.
