Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will never allow the resumption of Russia's oil supply to Slovakia and Hungary through the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Mr. Zelensky will never allow oil to be pumped through the Druzhba pipeline, never. Remember this. Our job is to put pressure and we will do it. From the phone call with him, a very strange phone call, it can be clearly seen that he does not want oil to come to Slovakia and Hungary" - Mr. Fico said in a statement posted on YouTube.
According to the Slovak Prime Minister, President Zelensky is responding to Slovakia for its peaceful stance in resolving the Ukraine conflict. He also revealed that the Slovak Government will strive to implement immunity from European Union sanctions and continue to receive energy from Russia until 2027.
On February 18, the Slovak government declared a crisis due to oil shortages and stopped supplying electricity and diesel to Ukraine. Bratislava does not rule out the possibility of imposing further restrictive measures on Ukraine if it does not change its approach to the situation around the Druzhba oil pipeline.
In developments related to Druzhba, Hungarian experts who arrived in Kiev on March 11 were not allowed to inspect the Druzhba oil pipeline to determine whether the pipeline was operating or not.
Ukraine also refused to allow the Hungarian delegation to meet at the Ministry of Energy on the issue of resuming Russian oil supplies. "We have returned. We crossed the border at 1 am this morning" - Hungarian Deputy Minister of Energy Gabor Czepek, head of the Hungarian delegation, shared.
However, as Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said earlier, the task assigned to the expert group has been completed. In Kiev, the Hungarian expert delegation consulted with diplomats from European Union countries and the United States, and presented their views. Ukrainian oil pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta also informed in this meeting.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials held a press conference for foreign ambassadors in Kiev, announcing that the restoration of oil supply through the Druzhba pipeline would take another month. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto noted that the Druzhba reopening time coincides with the Hungarian parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on April 12.
