No talks about energy blockade of Ukraine during meeting with Putin – Fico
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico denied that he discussed an energy blockade of Ukraine with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin during the summit in China.
He made this statement at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Uzhhorod, Censor.NET reports.
Asked by journalists whether Putin had urged him in China to impose an energy blockade on Ukraine, the Slovak prime minister replied that this was untrue.
"The information you received suggesting there was talk of some kind of energy blockade of Ukraine is completely false. This was absolutely not a subject of negotiations with Vladimir Putin. We mainly discussed bilateral cooperation between Slovakia and Russia," Fico said.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stressed that the main purpose of his visit to China was to honor the 36 million victims the country suffered during World War II and from Japanese aggression in 1931–1945.
"In this matter, between us [Ukraine], there may be different positions. But we believe the war will end as soon as possible and that relations with Russia will be normalized. We want to discuss these opportunities and the tasks that will arise in advance," he said.
He noted that Ukraine and Slovakia have "diametrically different views" on "some issues," particularly energy.
Fico added that he respects the position of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and expects that Ukraine will also respect Slovakia’s position.
