Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal held a series of talks with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico. The key topic of the talks was the energy security of both countries, in particular oil transit through Ukraine. This was stated by Shmyhal on his Telegram channel, UNN reports.
Details
In recent weeks, I have had a number of conversations with Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico. All of them were in the spirit of our common policy of new pragmatism and all of them were about the energy security of our countries
The head of the Ukrainian government emphasized that Ukraine has insisted and continues to insist on the need to refuse from Russian oil as much as possible. Because Russia and energy security are not compatible.
According to him, the EU has allowed Slovakia and a number of other countries to use Russian oil on the condition that they actively develop alternative supply channels.
Ukraine remains a reliable transit country for all countries that value freedom and the rule of law. We are unquestioningly implementing the Association Agreement with the EU. This will continue to be the case
He also emphasized that Ukrainian sanctions do not pose a threat to Slovakia's and Europe's energy security, so their lifting is not a subject of discussion. The head of the Ukrainian government assured that Ukraine has "full understanding of Brussels" in this matter.
The sanctions imposed by Ukraine are not a threat to Slovakia's energy security. The threat is Russia, its hybrid energy war against the Slovak people, its blackmail and political ultimatums
Shmyhal added that Slovakia is a reliable partner of Ukraine, from whom Kyiv does not expect blackmail or threats. According to him, threatening Ukraine, which is defending itself against the aggressor, so that the terrorist state can continue to earn its bloody excess profits is a dubious path.
We agreed to hold another intergovernmental meeting in October to continue our constructive, pragmatic dialog. I am grateful to my colleague, Mr. Fico, for important constructive conversations. I am confident that we will find mutually beneficial solutions for Ukraine, for Slovakia and for Europe
Recall
Slovakia and Hungary announcedthat they have stopped receiving oil from their key supplier Lukoil after Ukraine imposed a ban on the transit of the Russian energy company's resources through its territory in June.