Ukraine's MFA on Slovak PM's visit to Putin: These actions threaten the whole of Europe

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has stated that the weakness, dependence and short-sightedness of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's energy policy pose threats to the whole of Europe.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that Russia has been using energy as a weapon for many years, so the current European trend is to abandon Russian energy carriers and increase energy independence.

Against this backdrop, the ministry is surprised by the Slovak prime minister's persistent attempts to maintain energy dependence on Moscow, despite EU policy and European countries' joint efforts to diversify energy supplies.

"During the year, his [Fico’s – ed.] actions were actually aimed at helping Russia oust American and other gas from the European market, deepening Europe's dependence and weakening our continent,"  the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

Instead, Slovakia could have used this time to resolve all existing problems and find mutually acceptable solutions in coordination with its European partners and neighbours.

"Ukraine has repeatedly emphasised its readiness to consider relevant requests from the European Commission, but the prime minister of Slovakia charted a different course. Ukraine is paying the highest price – the price of human lives – for deterring Russian aggression and protecting European homes, including Slovak ones, from Russian murderers," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry stressed that it would not accept the "shameful policy of appeasement", which had already proved to be a mistake in the last century.

"We call on all European partners to work together to reduce dependence on Russian energy supplies and strengthen Europe's energy security," the Foreign Ministry said.

It was reported earlier that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited the Kremlin on 22 December for talks with Vladimir Putin.

The talks discussed issues on the international agenda, as well as the transit of Russian gas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Fico's visit to Putin.

On Monday, a protest was held in Bratislava in connection with Fico's trip to Russia.