Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has demanded that the European Commission allow Slovakia to purchase Russian gas until 2034, threatening to continue blocking the 18th sanctions package against Russia otherwise.This statement was made by Fico, the text of which is available to the European Pravda media outlet.The Slovak Prime Minister said that, as promised, he had submitted proposals from the European Commission regarding energy security guarantees for Slovakia to the leaders of "all relevant political parties," and they deemed the proposals "insufficient.""A representative of the Slovak Republic has been instructed today to request a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanctions package, in light of the position of the Slovak political establishment," he confirmed.According to Fico, "the best solution to this situation" would be to allow Slovakia to fulfill its contract with Russian Gazprom until its expiration in 2034."Currently, the European Commission fundamentally rejects this, as approving this proposal would contradict the essence of anti-Russian sanctions," added the Slovak Prime Minister.It is worth recalling that the 18th sanctions package against Russia was one of the key topics of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on July 15. The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, stated that countries were "very close" to an agreement and expressed hope that the decision would be made that day.Slovakia had been blocking the new sanctions, demanding guarantees from the European Commission that it would not suffer losses after the EU's full abandonment of Russian gas by 2028. Malta has its own reservations regarding the lowering of the "price cap" on Russian oil.