(MENAFN) Slovakia's Foreign Minister, Juraj Blanar, stated on Saturday that the Slovak government will not endorse restrictions on the import of nuclear fuel from Russia as part of the 12th package of EU sanctions currently under discussion among member states.
Blanar clarified that Slovakia would not obstruct the proposed set of penalties against Moscow, provided that the ban on nuclear fuel is excluded.
“It is the red line for us… Our nuclear power plants cannot yet switch to alternative fuel. This [nuclear-related clause] definitely cannot be there,” Blanar stated, indicating the fresh package.
Simultaneously, Blanar expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the overall sanctions policy pursued by the EU since the onset of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
“The 11 packages of sanctions failed to stop Russia, while the EU economy is moving towards recession,” the envoy said, he continued that the prices of food and fuel in Slovakia have surged as a consequence of sanctions that were intended to target Moscow.
Slovakia, along with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, still procures essential nuclear fuel for its four Soviet-designed reactors from Russia. Russia holds around 50 percent of the world's uranium enrichment infrastructure, a crucial element in the production of nuclear fuel.
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