Slovak PM says EU should drop sanctions on Russian oil and gas to boost energy security

The European Union should end sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports, take steps to restore Druzhba oil pipeline flows ​and end the war in Ukraine to tackle the energy crisis stemming ‌from the war in Iran, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday.

Fico said in a statement after a call with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the EU should renew dialogue with ​Russia and ensure conditions so member states can get missing gas and oil ​supplies from all sources, including Russia.

Hungary and Slovakia’s leaders are outliers in ⁠the EU for maintaining relations with Moscow.

Oil prices have surged since U.S. and ​Israeli strikes on Iran started on February 28, holding up shipments from the Gulf and ​creating, what the International Energy Agency called the biggest oil supply disruption in history.

Central European nations have taken measures to cool the impact of high prices at the fuel pump for people and businesses.

The EU ​was importing just 1% of its oil from Russia by the final quarter of ​2025, having slashed imports since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Hungary and Slovakia were the only ‌two ⁠EU countries still importing Russian oil by January 27, when Kyiv said a Russian drone strike hit pipeline equipment in Ukraine, disrupting Russian oil shipments.

Budapest and Bratislava have accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the repairs to resume oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, triggering ​a political dispute that ​has seen Hungary block ⁠an EU loan to Kyiv. Ukraine says it is fixing it as fast as it can.

In the statement on Saturday, Fico ​said it was not enough to deal with the energy crisis ​only at ⁠the national level.

Meanwhile, five other European Union countries are calling for a windfall tax on energy companies’ profits in reaction to the rising fuel prices, according to a letter from finance ministers ⁠to ​the EU Commission seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The bloc’s ​energy chief said on Tuesday it was considering reviving energy crisis measures used in 2022, including proposals to curb ​grid tariffs and taxes on electricity.