Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is meeting his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán in Bratislava today, January 21st, to discuss the protection of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, which was the target of a recent attempted attack.
Russia said last week that the attack aimed to “cut off gas supplies to European countries,” and accused Ukraine of conducting “energy terrorism” against the EU.
TurkStream—running underneath the Black Sea toward Turkey, then through Bulgaria to Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria—is the last operational gas pipeline connecting Russia to the EU. Damage to it would cause a serious energy crisis in Central Europe.
Ukraine refused to renew a transit agreement with Russian Gazprom to export gas through the Brotherhood pipeline, which runs through Ukraine. The contract expired at the end of last year and Fico, whose country is deeply impacted by the decision, said his government would discuss strong retaliatory measures against Ukraine.
In a video shared on his Facebook account on Saturday, the left-wing nationalist prime minister said that not only was Slovakia and the EU facing higher energy prices because of Kyiv’s decision, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was pushing Europe to buy “expensive” U.S. liquefied gas.
The culmination of all this is the Ukrainian military attack on the southern branch of the TurkStream gas pipeline—the pipeline that carries Russian gas to Turkey and then further to southeastern and southern Europe. Zelensky simply wants to stop any flow of gas from east to west so that gas can flow from west to east, especially from the United States to Europe.
Fico said he is convinced that Zelensky “is forcing us to reciprocate and we will do it.” He emphasised that he would veto further European financial assistance to Ukraine, a decision that requires unanimity in the European Council.
Fico and ally Orbán have both advocated for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine and refused to send military aid to Ukraine. They have also criticised EU sanctions on Russia, and have both had one-on-one meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the war—a move denounced by Western European liberals.
Fico’s centrist-liberal opposition initiated a vote of no confidence against the government last week, accusing Fico of orientating Slovakia towards Moscow. The vote is to be held on Tuesday, January 21st.
The prime minister accused the opposition of wanting to orchestrate a coup d’état, alleging that opposition leader Michal Šimečka made commitments during his recent visit to Kyiv, including promises of NATO membership for Ukraine and the participation of Slovak soldiers in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Fico emphasised that his government would “never support Ukraine’s membership in NATO, because it would only lead to World War III.”
Fico also cautioned against efforts by some European leaders to transform the EU into a ‘European superstate,’ a move that would significantly limit the sovereignty of nation states. In this stance, too, Fico finds common ground with Orbán, who has fought against attempts by the Brussels liberal elites to take away competencies from member states.
