In relation to Ukraine, the Slovak Republic behaves as a responsible partner and expects the same from the other party. However, in connection with the interruption of oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline, Ukraine does not communicate sufficiently and does not give clear answers as to what happened and when supplies will be restored. This was announced by the Minister of Education and the vice-chairman of the Hlas-SD coalition Tomáš Drucker in the Sunday discussion show TA3 V politika.
- Slovakia criticizes Ukraine’s communication regarding the interruption of oil supplies through Druzhba.
- Minister Drucker disagrees with the threat of stopping electricity supplies to Ukraine.
- The opposition KDH criticizes the government for its silence on the damage to the oil pipeline and its dependence on Russia.
- Government controls on NGOs and their role were also discussed.
- According to the participants of the discussion, the elections will be more about personalities than about parties.
According to him, Slovakia has ensured the diversification of supplies over the past years. “Today, we have the possibility of supplying oil from the Czech Republic, also through the Adria pipeline. Those negotiations were ongoing, but they are complicated because there is a problem between MOL and the Croatian side. That connection is more expensive than it is for us from the Russian side,” he pointed out, adding that Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD) is negotiating intensively with the Croatian, Hungarian and Czech parties, as well as with the European Commission. “We have ensured that there will be enough oil from the reservoirs. Secondly, oil supplies from Saudi Arabia and other countries, which should pass through the Adria pipeline, are already secured“, he added.
In connection with the statements of Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) that if oil supplies to Slovakia via Ukraine are not resumed on Monday (February 23), Slovakia will stop electricity supplies to the country, Drucker thinks that would not be a good move. According to him, there will be no power outage in Ukraine, because it will be supplied by other countries. “In that case, only Slovakia would lose money. In my opinion, this is not the right step, I say that very clearly,” added the minister.
The chairman of the opposition KDH and member of the National Council (NR) of the SR Milan Majerský criticized the government for the fact that she kept silent for three weeks about the damage to the Druzhba pipeline and the stoppage of oil supplies, as well as for different statements towards Ukraine and Russia. “The Prime Minister began to blame (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky, Ukraine as such. Of course, he didn’t want to admit that the Russians had bombed this pipeline“, he recalled.
According to Majerský, the government led by Fico made a mistake in the past when it did not cut off supplies from Russia a long time ago. “They should have cut themselves off from Russian fossil fuels. Czechs and Poles did it, today they have a liter of petrol or diesel 10 cents cheaper than we do in Slovakia. Where is the cheap Russian oil when the Czechs and Poles have cheaper fuel than we do?” asked the opposition MP.
He considers it “out of character” to threaten Ukraine with stopping electricity supplies in the winter and for something caused by Russian bombing. According to him, it does not even make economic sense. “We sell them the electricity, we don’t donate it. The Poles, Hungarians, Romanians will be very happy to sell that electricity for us from their grid sources, thus the Prime Minister will punish not only the Ukrainians, but also the Slovaks, that they will not have money for the electricity we sell them,” argued Majerský.
In the discussion, the KDH leader also reminded that the prime minister is “at the throat” of non-governmental organizations, which often replace the state. He was reacting to the government’s decision on non-governmental controls. Drucker stated that the vast majority of the non-governmental sector is doing a good job, but any organization that handles public resources must also withstand scrutiny. According to him, the Ministry of Education already carries out ongoing checks, and he does not see anything extraordinary in the new regulation.
Changing the chairman in Hlas-SD is not a topic at the moment, said Drucker. “We also do politically demanding things that may take away points from us, but are important for citizens and go beyond the scope of one election period,” he emphasized. Majerský, on the other hand, repeated that he wants to bring the KDH back into parliament and into the government. At the same time, he admitted that Vice President Viliam Karas could also manage the movement. In connection with the topics opened by the opposition PS, Majerský declared that the KDH would not agree to the opening of the so-called Beneš decrees. He will also never join a government that would like to introduce the so-called marriages for all or registered partnerships. According to the leader of the movement, the Vatican treaties cannot be canceled or recognized either.
In connection with this year’s municipal and regional elections, Majerský reminded that people circle people in them more addressably, regardless of party affiliation. So far, the KDH has not concluded debates about what kind of coalitions they will build in individual regions. Drucker agrees that this election is more about personalities. “With our candidates, we will also apply for the support of other parties,” he said and added that Hlas-SD will also support capable people in the regions.
