Fico accepted Zelenskyy's offer to hold joint talks on all aspects of Ukrainian-Slovak cooperation

Slovak President Robert Fico stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed holding joint talks with the Slovak side on all aspects of Ukrainian-Slovak cooperation, to which the Slovak leader agreed. Fico wrote about this on Facebook, UNN reports.

Details

"Due to the oil crisis in Slovakia, I called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today. I asked him to inform me when and if oil transit through Ukraine to Slovakia would be restored at all. I argued that we have a legal right to such imports based on signed agreements with suppliers, as well as the EU's decision on the extraction of energy raw materials from Russia until the end of 2027," Fico wrote.

He added that he informed Zelenskyy that his decision to stop oil transit was causing logistical difficulties and economic losses for Slovakia.

"The conversation confirmed that we have different views on the state of the oil pipeline. Although our intelligence confirms that the oil pipeline is not damaged and nothing prevents oil transit, the President of Ukraine insisted that the repair of the oil pipeline requires a lot of time. For this reason, to avoid misunderstandings, I informed the Ukrainian president that, together with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, we propose to create an inspection group, which will include experts appointed by the European Commission and EU member states, which will directly establish the actual state of technical damage to the oil pipeline or its ability to continue oil transit to Slovakia," Fico added.

He also added that the Ukrainian side has not yet allowed the Slovak ambassador in Kyiv to conduct such an inspection, and that such an opportunity has not even been provided to the European Union ambassador in Ukraine.

"President Zelenskyy rejected such inspection activities, citing the negative position of the Ukrainian special services. The President of Ukraine proposed holding joint talks with the Slovak side on all aspects of Ukrainian-Slovak cooperation. I accepted this invitation and asked the Government of Slovakia and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, in cooperation with the Ukrainian side, to find a suitable date for such a meeting, and I prefer a meeting with the Ukrainian president on the territory of one of the EU member states that the Ukrainian president intensively visits," Fico summarized.

Recall

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico named the "Druzhba" oil pipeline as the topic of today's telephone conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.