Slovakia hopes for a gesture of gratitude from Ukraine in the form of resuming the transit of Russian gas.
This was stated by the President of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, after the Slavkov Format (S3) summit, which took place on Wednesday at the Slavkov Castle near Brno, as reported by Akuality.
Pellegrini proposed holding an EU-US summit to strengthen transatlantic relations and emphasized the need for a more dynamic European policy. He expressed understanding of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s desire for the EU summit on Thursday to discuss granting Ukraine permission to transit gas through its territory to Europe, as he believes this protects Slovakia’s national interests. He also stressed that Slovakia has never blocked decisions on the international stage.
The Presidents of the Czech Republic and Austria, Petr Pavel and Alexander Van der Bellen, agreed that if the summit does not reach an agreement, options should be considered for finding a solution that does not paralyze the countries. Pavel suggested considering the creation of a coalition of willing states focused on a specific task they have agreed upon, rather than remaining in a blocked format.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico demands that the EU summit on March 6 decide on the resumption of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, otherwise, he threatens to block the summit’s conclusions.
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the EU summit should discuss the possibility of direct negotiations with Russia on a ceasefire and establishing sustainable peace in Ukraine.
