WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has assessed that the European Union, not Russia, will be the losers after Ukraine prevented the transport of Russian gas, Brussels-based Politiko reported today.
“Stopping gas transit through Ukraine will have a drastic impact on all of us in the EU, but not on Russia,” Fico said in his New Year’s address.
Fico discussed gas supplies with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Christmas holidays in Moscow.
Fico had previously argued that ending the agreement would increase costs for the EU and hit the Union’s competitiveness, as well as cause energy prices in Slovakia to rise.
Fico threatened to take “reciprocal measures” against Ukraine if it did not extend the arrangement, including stopping electricity exports to the country, which is facing a harsh winter.
On the other hand, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski today hailed the completion of the Russian deal as a victory for Kiev.
Putin spent billions building Nord Stream to bypass Ukraine and blackmail Eastern Europe with the threat of cutting off gas supplies. Today, Ukraine has denied him the ability to export gas directly to the EU, Sikorski said.
