Slovakia to Resume Discussing Energy Supplies With Russia

Slovakia will restart consultations with Russia on energy supplies next week for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.

The Slovakian foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation would take place in Moscow on Oct. 26.

According to Slovak news agency TASR, Bratislava will discuss natural gas and oil supplies, as well as civil nuclear energy.

Alongside energy, both sides will also discuss ensuring the supply of strategic raw materials. Other topics will include agriculture, tourism, sport, and culture.

“The Slovak government is interested in constructive and pragmatic relations with the Russian Federation,” said Marek Estok, state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

“At the same time, we want to develop cooperation for the benefit of the national interests of the Slovak Republic in areas that are not subject to sanctions regimes and that are in line with our commitments to the European Union.”

The resumption of the commission follows repeated trips to Moscow by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose most recent visit was in May this year.

Fico’s aim to keep dialogue open with Russia despite the ongoing war sets him apart from most of the European Union. Hungary, a neighboring Eastern European nation, held this position until the recent ouster of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who lost April’s election.

Under measures passed by the EU, Bratislava is meant to stop the gas purchases by late ​2027.

No New ‘Iron Curtain’

Estok also stressed his government’s desire to keep communication channels open, even amid the current conflict.

“In today’s dynamic world, it is essential to maintain contacts wherever possible,” he said. “Therefore, we strongly reject the escalating efforts to build a new Iron Curtain between the European Union and the Russian Federation.”

Fico, serving a fourth term as Slovakia’s prime minister, has criticized EU sanctions on Russia and said in June he would block future sanctions if they harm Slovakia’s national interests.

He had also blamed Ukraine ⁠for an interruption in oil supplies earlier this year. Kyiv said at the time that Russian attacks on the Druzhba pipeline, which brings oil into Slovakia, caused the damage and that it would take a long time to repair.

In January, the EU formally adopted regulations to phase out imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas, with Brussels saying the move is part of its plan to increase the bloc’s energy independence and deprive Moscow of funds to support its military action against Ukraine. Slovakia and Hungary—then under Orban’s premiership—voted against the measures.

Last month, Fico said some within NATO are seeking a conflict between the alliance and Russia, after a “failed” strategy to defeat Moscow through its war with Ukraine.

The war ​in Ukraine is neither NATO’s nor Slovakia’s conflict, he said on Sept. 19, but “certain war hawks within NATO are trying, ‌at any ⁠cost, to turn this war into a conflict between Russia and NATO.”

In apparent response to the remarks, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it was irresponsible to question Russia’s imperialism as being the ​greatest present threat to Europe.

“The greatest threat to the freedom of our continent comes from Moscow,” Wadephul said as he met Slovak counterpart Juraj ​Blanar. “The greatest danger to Europe is [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ​belligerent imperialism.”

Reuters contributed to this report.