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Quote: "Fico said that after he told Zelenskyy that Slovakia could lose about €500 million in gas transit fees a year, the Ukrainian president 'asked me if I would then vote for NATO membership if he gave me €500 million of Russian assets, and of course, I said ‘never'."
Details: Fico told reporters that Zelenskyy’s alleged proposals behind closed doors were "absurd" and suggested Ukraine had caused harm to the EU member state’s economy.
"We are demonstrably facing a gas crisis thanks to President Zelenskyy," Fico stated during a press conference before the summit, though he did not clarify his remarks further.
Previously, Slovak media reported Fico's account of a discussion with Zelenskyy regarding Russian gas transit through Ukraine.
"We have differences on the issue of gas transit through Ukraine. I asked him whether he would be ready to transit other gas besides Russian gas," Fico said.
He said that Zelenskyy ruled out the possibility that Ukraine could transit any gas. "He asked if we could imagine paying for gas that finances the war," Fico described the conversation.
"We see no reason to pay more for gas due to geopolitical circumstances," the Slovak prime minister stated during a press conference on 13 December, accusing the West of exerting pressure regarding gas transit.
Zelensky criticised Slovakia in response, saying: "It is shameful to talk about money when we are losing lives."
Background:
The transit contract between Ukraine and Russia is set to expire on 1 January 2025. Ukraine stated it does not plan to extend the agreement.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed to his Slovak counterpart that Kyiv is ruling out the possibility of renewing the transit deal with Gazprom but emphasised that Ukraine is open to transporting gas through its system if it is not sourced from Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine would not consider renewing the Gazprom agreement or transit Russian gas disguised as Azerbaijani gas.
The European Union has prepared for the cessation of transit. The share of Russian gas in Europe has decreased to 6%, with only 4% transiting through Ukraine.
EU Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen confirmed that the EU is actively preparing to end all gas cooperation with Russia, stating, "Our main priority is to completely sever energy ties between the EU and Russia".
当地时间12月19日，斯洛伐克总理菲佐在欧盟峰会期间与乌克兰总统泽连斯基举行了会晤。菲佐在随后的记者会上指控泽连斯基试图向他行贿。
菲佐在记者会上说，泽连斯基已经完全排除了让天然气继续过境乌克兰的可能性。“他完全排除了这种可能性，并提出了在我看来是荒谬的建议。”
菲佐透露，泽连斯基“问我，如果他从俄罗斯被冻结在西方的资产中拿出5亿欧元给我，我是否会投票支持（乌克兰）加入北约”。
菲佐还说，他直接直截了当地告诉泽连斯基，他永远不会同意向乌克兰发出入约邀请。
他还强调：“你们知道我对乌克兰加入北约的看法，他问我这样的问题很奇怪，因为他非常清楚，邀请乌克兰加入北约是完全不现实的。”
在美国总统拜登即将卸任之际，泽连斯基敦促拜登说服北约成员国，邀请乌克兰加入北约。美国新当选总统特朗普即将于明年1月上任，他在竞选期间多次批评美国对乌克兰的大规模支持，并承诺他上任后将迅速结束冲突，乌克兰担心被逼“割地求和”。
乌克兰总统泽连斯基11月29日在接受《卫报》采访时提出停战条件。泽连斯基说，要结束俄乌战争，乌克兰尚未被俄罗斯控制的部分必须加入北约。至于被俄罗斯占领的那些领土，乌克兰之后会通过外交谈判的方式将它们拿回来。