Photo: Getty Images
Slovakia will send a delegation to Moscow to discuss expanding supplies of Russian oil and gas, despite the European Union’s plan to phase out Russian energy imports entirely, Reuters reported, citing Slovakia’s Foreign Ministry.
A meeting of the Russian-Slovak intergovernmental commission on economic and scientific-technical cooperation is scheduled for October 26. It will be the first meeting of its kind since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The agenda includes energy, including nuclear power, agriculture, the environment, sports and culture.
The meeting follows several visits to Moscow by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
“Energy will be the main topic, as well as opportunities for cooperation in securing supplies of strategic resources,” the Slovak Foreign Ministry said.
Slovakia is also interested in discussing gas supplies and the continuation of oil deliveries, the ministry added.
EU phaseout plan
Slovakia, which continues to purchase Russian energy, is required under the EU’s phaseout plan to stop importing Russian gas by the end of 2027. The bloc’s strategy aims to cut off a source of revenue that helps finance Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry said the country intended to develop relations with Russia while continuing to meet its commitments within the EU and NATO. It argued that Slovakia needed to preserve “space for dialogue.”
