Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to stop the transit of Russian gas will definitely hit European countries. This was stated by the Deputy Speaker of the Slovak Parliament Tibor Gaspar in an interview with TASS.
“This is clearly a step that harms the EU and its member states“, he said.
On January 1, the transit of Russian gas to Europe through the territory of Ukraine was completely stopped due to Kiev's refusal to extend the agreement with "Gazprom". Slovakia also received this gas.
"Ukraine has received enough military aid, it's time to end this endless story," Gaspar continued.
„We need to think about how to protect the interests of our citizens first and foremost. That is why discussions are taking place in different countries and parties are coming to power that are more interested in protecting their citizens than continuing this "endless story with Ukraine," he pointed out.
Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he intended to veto further EU financial assistance to Kiev due to Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to discuss the resumption of Russian gas transit through Ukraine.
Gaspar also said that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is turning everything Russian into a scarecrow for Europeans.
“This definitely sounds terrible for Europeans,“ he said, commenting on the NATO Secretary General's words that in four or five years the EU “will have to learn Russian“ if it refuses to increase military spending.
“There was a period in history when we were under the influence of the USSR. That is why today this issue is used to create a negative attitude towards the Russian Federation," Gaspar explained.
"It has long been out of date that we are striving to fall into Russia's sphere of influence. We are in the center of Europe, Slovakia's place is there, but we want to protect our national interests to the maximum extent," Gaspar added.