A meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in one of the countries of the European Union would be inappropriate, because the Druzhba pipeline is located in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, according to the Ukrainska pravda news website, writes TASR. In an interview with journalists, the president stated that Fico initially agreed to travel to Ukraine, but later announced that he was willing to meet only in an EU country.
However, Zelenskyi said that this is not correct. “The prime minister initially agreed to come here, where the negotiations are taking place and where the pipeline is located. Why should we travel elsewhere? Instead of communicating through social media, we should come together and achieve a concrete result,” emphasized the Ukrainian president.
Earlier, his office informed that Kyiv proposed March 6 or 9 as specific dates for Fico’s visit to Ukraine. In an interview with journalists Zelenskyy criticized the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia for their pragmatic approach to solving problems with the Druzhba pipeline after the Russian attacks. The President claims that neither of them takes into account what costs and risks these repairs bring to Ukraine.
He pointed out that when the pipeline was repaired after the first Russian attack, there followed no appeals to Moscow for its army not to attack it. However, according to Zelensky, there were statements addressed to Ukraine that “the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia is at stake”. The President also informed that during the repairs of the oil pipeline there was “combat situation”, which resulted in injuries to Ukrainian repairmen. However, according to Zelensky, Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán did not comment on it, they only stated again that Ukraine has obligations in this area.
Zelenskyy spoke with Fico by phone on February 27, when he also invited him to visit Ukraine to discuss all current issues. The call followed the Slovak Prime Minister’s threat from February 21 that he would stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine from March 2. if Kyiv does not resume supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline. In an interview with the Slovak Prime Minister, Zelensky, in his own words, emphasized that the transit of Russian oil means that Moscow profits from it and can continue to finance the war against Ukraine.
Raw material from Russia does not flow through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia since January 27. According to Kyiv, the reason is the Russian attack on the oil pipeline facility. Orbán and Fico suspect Ukraine of political blackmail, which claims that it is working to repair damaged infrastructure. On March 2, Orbán published satellite images that allegedly prove that the operation of the Druzhba pipeline is not restricted. Zelenskyi said that such images cannot reveal all the details.
