Slovakia and Hungary signaled they would resist pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut Russian oil and gas imports until the European Union member states find sufficient alternative supplies.
“Before we can fully commit, we need to have the right conditions in place — otherwise we risk seriously damaging our industry and economy,” Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova told reporters in Bratislava on Wednesday.
The minister said sufficient infrastructure must first be in place to support alternative routes. The comments amount to a pushback against fresh pressure from Trump for all EU states to end Russian energy imports, a move that would hit Slovakia and Hungary.
Hungarian Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas reiterated that his country would rebuff EU initiatives that threatened the security of its energy supplies.
Sakova said she made clear Slovakia’s position during talks with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Vienna this week. She said the Trump official expressed understanding, while acknowledging that the US must boost energy projects in Europe.
Trump said over the weekend that he’s prepared to move ahead with “major” sanctions on Russian oil if European nations do the same. The government in Bratislava is prepared to shut its Russian energy links if it has sufficient infrastructure to transport volumes, Sakova said.
“As long as we have an alternative route, and the transmission capacity is sufficient, Slovakia has no problem diversifying,” the minister said. A complete cutoff of Russian supplies would pose a risk, she said, because Slovakia is located at the very end of alternative supply routes coming from the West.
Slovakia and Hungary, landlocked nations bordering Ukraine, have historically depended on Russian oil and gas. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both launched several diversification initiatives.
Slovakia imports around third of its oil from non-Russian sources via the Adria pipeline through the Balkan region and Hungary — and has secured a series of flexible contracts with Western gas suppliers. Still, officials around Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has maintained his links to the Kremlin and visited Moscow, view Russian supplies as strategically important.
Hungary regards EU sanctions against Russia as ineffective and will continue to block steps that threaten its supplies, Gulyas said at a press briefing in Budapest.
“When it goes against Hungarian interests directly, such as on energy purchases, then we’ll veto,” Gulyas said.
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