The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, has addressed an open letter to the leadership of the European Union (EU) regarding Ukraine's refusal to carry out Russian natural gas transit through its territory.

In his letter, Fico asked the EU leadership to "pay due attention to this unprecedented situation and to attribute its urgent importance."

According to him, this unilateral suspension of transit via Ukraine toward Slovakia will cost tens of billions of euros for European citizens, businesses, and infrastructure.

"Although the volume of gas really transited through Ukraine accounts for only about 3.5% of gas consumption (EU27 + Great Britain), this is a quantity that is different in terms of the overall market situation and results in that the conformity situation in terms of demand satisfaction turns into a tense situation. The interviewed traders estimate that the difference between continuing and stopping Russian gas transit through Ukraine constitutes at least 10 to 12 EUR/MWh of gas for shops closed on key Dutch and German stock markets. This difference is also evidenced by the increase in gas prices from the level of around 35 EUR/MWh to the current level of about 45 EUR/MWh, which can only be explained by the negative outlook related to the decision of the Ukrainian President," the Slovak premier added in his letter.

Also, according to Fico, the “loss caused by the Russian Federation will only amount to around 2 billion.”