- The Slovak government refuses to unilaterally stop the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine.
- The Cabinet asks the institutions of the European Union to put pressure on the Ukrainian leadership.
- Robert Fico solved the oil transit problem with António Costa by phone.
- Slovakia is allowed to take Russian oil through Druzhba until 2027.
- Fico criticizes the inaction of the European Commission in concretely reducing electricity prices.
The Slovak government cannot accept the unilateral and harmful for the Slovak Republic step of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop the transit of Russian oil. At the same time, he expects the authorities of the European Union (EU) to put pressure on the Ukrainian leadership to restore the flow of this oil. This was stated by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) after Monday’s telephone consultation with the President of the European Council (ER) António Costa, which concerned the preparation for the summit of EU leaders on March 19 and 20 in Brussels.
“I appreciate that a significant part of the almost three-quarter hour conversation was devoted to the issue of resuming the operation of the Druzhba pipeline on Ukrainian territory. The Slovak government cannot accept the unilateral and harmful for the Slovak Republic step of the Ukrainian president to stop the transit of oil and expects that the EU authorities will put pressure on the Ukrainian leadership to restore the flow of Russian oil, which we are authorized to take until the end of 2027.” stated Fico.
In the interview, in his own words, he emphasized that the Union cannot prioritize the interests of Ukraine over the interests of EU member states, such as Slovakia or Hungary. “I also expressed my dissatisfaction with the fact that the European Commission (EC) has so far not submitted any concrete proposals to reduce electricity prices, as it was repeatedly requested by the prime ministers and heads of EU member states,” added Fico.
