By Tuesday, July 15, Slovakia wants to receive guarantees of protection against the consequences of the planned suspension of Russian gas imports, which are a condition for supporting the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said, writes Bloomberg.

Fizzo said he had discussed the matter with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and described the talks as"extremely difficult".

"We want to resolve this issue by Tuesday because tensions are rising on all sides," Fico told reporters, repeating his stance on cutting off Russian gas supplies, saying such a move would lead to higher energy prices and hurt Slovakia's competitiveness.

It calls for the EU to prepare measures to reduce high transit costs, provide financial support to households and industry if energy prices rise and offer legal guarantees if Slovakia faces arbitration by Russia's Gazprom over a potential breach of a €16 billion contract.