Slovakia signals conditional backing for new Russia sanctions, seeks guarantees

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár has signalled his country’s conditional readiness to support the European Union’s proposed 18th sanctions package against Russia, contradicting earlier claims by Hungary that both countries were blocking the initiative.

Speaking on June 23 following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Blanár stated that Slovakia evaluates every sanctions package individually, prioritising whether it could negatively impact the Slovak economy, Caliber.Az reports, referring to Euractiv.

“Negotiations are still ongoing,” he said, “but based on what’s been discussed so far, it’s clear the package won’t negatively impact Slovakia’s economy, and we’re ready to support it.”

However, he stressed that Slovakia would require guarantees and support to offset the potential consequences of cutting itself off from Russian energy.

“There are also arbitration risks that will affect the Slovak Republic – possibly amounting to as much as €20 billion,” Blanár warned. “That’s why we are demanding guarantees on how these negative effects will be addressed.”

He emphasised that it is politically important for Slovakia that the issue of sanctions be tied to the RePowerEU proposal and be discussed at the European Council level. To that end, both Blanár and Prime Minister Robert Fico are seeking a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose country is set to chair upcoming negotiations on RePowerEU.

Earlier that day, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Hungary and Slovakia were opposing the sanctions package due to concerns about energy security and Brussels’ push to end imports of Russian gas and oil.

However, diplomatic sources cited by the Czech news agency ČTK expressed optimism that the objections from both countries could still be resolved in the course of negotiations.

Despite often voicing threats to block sanctions, Slovakia has never actually vetoed any EU measures against Russia. Geopolitical analyst Jozef Hrabina told Euractiv Slovakia that while Slovak officials frequently adopt confrontational rhetoric, “the country does not have a history of being a ‘rebel’ in practice.”

By Tamilla Hasanova