‘Meaningless’ Russia bans jeopardise EU economy, warns Slovak PM


FE Team | Published: August 15, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00


PRAGUE, Aug 14 (Reuters): Slovakia's prime minister (PM) criticised European Union sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, saying they would only threaten economic growth in the 28-member bloc.
"Why should we jeopardise the EU economy that begins to grow?" Robert Fico told a news conference.
"If there is a crisis situation, it should be solved by other means than meaningless sanctions. Who profits from EU economy decreasing, Russia's economy having troubles and Ukraine economically on its knees?"
Fico also said Slovakia must be prepared for a potential disruption of Russian natural gas supplies via Ukraine.
Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine on June 16 in a dispute over unpaid bills but so far has continued to supply gas which Ukraine sends on to Russia's other customers.

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