Slovakia has officially confirmed the resumption of intergovernmental consultations with Russia, suspended after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The first meeting of the joint commission in almost five years will take place on October 26 in Moscow. The main topics will be supplies of Russian gas, oil and cooperation in nuclear energy.
This is reported by Reuters with reference to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, published on October 20.
State Secretary of the Slovak Foreign Ministry Marek Eštok and Russian Ambassador to Bratislava Sergey Andreev discussed preparations for the meeting. The Slovak delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár. The Russian side will be represented by Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov.
The central issue of the negotiations will be energy cooperation. Bratislava intends to discuss possibilities for ensuring supplies of strategic raw materials, primarily natural gas and oil. The parties will pay special attention to civilian nuclear energy.
The Slovak delegation will also include State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy Vladimír Šimonák and a representative of the gas company SPP. They will participate in discussing practical issues of energy cooperation.
Besides energy, the agenda includes agriculture, environmental protection, tourism, sports and culture. After the meeting of the intergovernmental commission, a business forum with participation of business representatives from both countries is planned.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry emphasized that cooperation with Russia is expected to be developed only in areas not covered by the current sanctions of the European Union.
Marek Eštok stated that the government is interested in maintaining pragmatic relations with Moscow, but intends to observe commitments related to Slovakia's membership in the EU and NATO. He also spoke against further limiting communication channels between Russia and European states.
The resumption of negotiations takes place against the backdrop of Bratislava's disagreements with the European Union over Russian energy resources. According to EU plans, imports of Russian gas should be stopped by the end of 2027. Slovakia opposes such a restriction, as it continues to purchase Russian oil and gas.
Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly criticized European sanctions against Russia. On October 12, he reported that Bratislava is challenging the European Commission's decision related to the ban on imports of Russian gas within the framework of the REPowerEU program in court.
As Reuters notes, the position of the Slovak government notably differs from the approach of the majority of European Union and NATO states, which seek to reduce energy dependence on Russia and limit Moscow's revenues from energy exports.
The joint Russian-Slovak intergovernmental commission last met in November 2021. After the start of the full-scale war, its work was suspended. An agreement on resuming meetings was reached during negotiations between Fico and Vladimir Putin in 2025.
Earlier, Kurs.com.ua reported that Russian-Slovak economic consultations were planned to be held on November 25. Now the Slovak Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed the earlier date — October 26.
Meanwhile, separate intergovernmental consultations between Slovakia and Ukraine are scheduled for November 5 in Lviv. Thus, Bratislava intends to hold talks with Kyiv and Moscow almost simultaneously, despite the ongoing Russian aggression.
