Slovakia has announced its intention to return Russian gas transit to the EU through its territory

The decision of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to stop gas supplies from Russia to Europe through Slovakia is extremely destructive for the European economy, so Bratislava is doing everything in its power to ensure that Russian gas continues to flow into the country. On April 4, Lyubosh Blaga, a member of the European Parliament (EP) from Slovakia, told Izvestia.

"We are doing everything possible to ensure that Russian gas continues to flow to Slovakia. This is something that damages the Slovak and European economy so much that it can be called an act of war, an act of aggression against the Slovaks, who helped the Ukrainians in various ways, and now this is retribution from Zelensky," the politician said.

He added that the situation is so absurd that even Western countries that "hate" Russia buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from it and then sell it in Europe.

"It's just more expensive. We cannot compete in the global economic market while we have such expensive energy resources. That's why we need Russian gas, Russian oil, and Russian energy in a vital way. And to pretend that we are now harming Russia with sanctions is simply absurd. Sanctions harm us first of all, not the Russian Federation. What Zelensky has done is literally a declaration of war on the European Union," stated Blaga.

"More than 50% of Slovakians blame the West and Ukraine for what is happening"

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On March 21, Politico newspaper, citing officials, reported that the European Union (EU) is considering the possibility of transit of gas from Ukraine's underground storage facilities through Slovakia. According to the plan, Ukraine will increase gas imports from Greece and Turkey, after which the fuel will be sent to Slovak pipelines, and from them to European countries. It is assumed that in this way Kiev will be able to store up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas and supply it to other countries, such as Hungary.

On March 17, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also called for the restoration of gas transit through Ukraine. He noted that he had met with the EU ambassadors at the office of the Slovak government. It stated that without gas transit through Ukraine, Europe would never be competitive, and the Slovak Republic would continue its diplomatic offensive to resume this transit.