Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday defended his participation in World War II commemorations in Moscow and called for renewed cooperation between Europe and Russia.
"I reject a new Iron Curtain between the EU and Russia," the left-wing nationalist said in a Facebook video on the return flight from Moscow to Bratislava.
He said he and his government had an "interest in normal, friendly and mutually beneficial relations" with the major power Russia, as well as with all other countries interested in this.
He said he saw the EU's intention to completely break free from Russian energy supplies as purely "ideological" and also "damaging to European competitiveness."
He said it was a mistake "to replace one energy dependency with another out of hatred of Russia, this time an American one that is also far more expensive".
Slovakia remains largely dependent on Russian oil supplies. The government led by Fico holds Ukraine partly responsible for its economic problems because it stopped the transit of Russian gas through its territory at the start of 2025.
When Russian oil stopped flowing via Ukraine at the end of January this year, the government in Bratislava declared an "oil emergency."
