Slovak PM Calls on EU to Lift Russia Energy Sanctions
The appeal comes as global energy markets reel from Iran's effective shutdown of most commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint responsible for approximately one-fifth of worldwide oil and liquefied natural gas flows — sending fuel and energy costs surging across the continent and intensifying the strain on import-dependent economies like Slovakia.
Speaking following a phone call with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Fico urged Brussels to reopen direct engagement with Moscow, according to TVP World.
"The EU and especially the (European Commission) should immediately resume dialogue with Russia and ensure such a political and legal environment that individual member states and the EU as a whole can replenish missing gas and oil supplies and enable the delivery of these strategic raw materials from all possible sources and directions, including Russia," he said.
Fico further demanded renewed efforts to restore flows through the Druzhba pipeline, the critical artery that carries Russian crude to both Hungary and Slovakia. Both nations currently benefit from partial exemptions to EU sanctions on Russian oil, given the absence of readily available alternative supply routes.
Fico and Orban have levelled accusations at Kyiv, alleging that Ukraine is deliberately stalling the resumption of pipeline deliveries for political leverage. Ukraine has firmly rejected those claims, insisting that restoration work is actively underway following damage inflicted by a Russian drone strike earlier this year.
The European Commission has not yet responded publicly to Fico's latest remarks.
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