Slovakia could back a new EU sanctions package against Russia on Tuesday, Prime Minister Robert Fico said, as long as it first reaches a deal with European partners to cushion the effect of a proposed ban on Russian gas entering the bloc.
Slovakia has blocked the sanctions package over Bratislava’s concerns that a European Commission proposal to end Russian gas imports from 2028 could damage the country’s economic interests. Slovakia gets the majority of its gas from Russia.
“We need to win something in this fight, though it will not be a 100-0 result,” Fico told reporters in the Slovak capital on Saturday. His remarks were reported by Reuters. “We want political commitments, guarantees from partners and the Commission that this problem will not remain only on Slovakia’s back.”