Slovak PM makes veto pledge to Putin

Robert Fico has said Slovakia will oppose an EU-wide energy embargo on Russian fossil fuels

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico pledged to block any European Union attempt to impose a full energy embargo on Russia during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday. He also denounced Western efforts to build a “new Iron Curtain.” 

Fico warned that halting Russian gas and oil deliveries would create instability, particularly for countries like Slovakia, whose refineries are configured for Russian crude. “Stopping supplies could cause technological problems,” he said.

Under the REPowerEU plan, the European Commission aims to eliminate the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

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“If the decision requires agreement from all 27 EU member states, we will use our veto right against banning the import of all types of energy resources,” Fico said. He added, “If it’s decided by a majority vote instead of unanimity, then the big states will impose their will.” 

The Slovak leader criticized sanctions on Russia as ineffective and damaging to the EU itself. He also dismissed the notion that nuclear fuel from US-based Westinghouse could replace Russian supplies at Slovak power stations, saying, “It’s simply impossible.” 

Fico also took aim at what he described as increasing efforts by the West to impose isolation. “There is a strong push to build a new Iron Curtain in various forms,” he said, referencing travel restrictions from EU states that he faced en route to Moscow. “I do not support this idea, and we will do everything so that through this curtain we can still shake hands.” 

Fico framed his visit to Moscow as a moral obligation, citing the over 60,000 Red Army soldiers who died during the liberation of Slovakia. “That’s why I considered it my duty to come here and pay tribute,” he said.

Slovak Prime Minister criticized EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for telling him that he was “on the wrong side of history.” In response, Fico wrote on his official account on X that, as a high-ranking official of the European Commission, Kallas has “absolutely no authority to criticize the sovereign Prime Minister of a sovereign country who approaches all European matters constructively.” 

“How can diplomacy and foreign policy be conducted if politicians are not supposed to meet and engage in normal dialogue on issues where they hold differing views?” he added.