Slovakia and European Commission support resumption of oil transit via Druzhba, — Fico
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the parties discussed the resumption of oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.
According to Censor.NET, this is reported in an article by the Slovak broadcaster SME.
Slovakia and the European Commission discuss the resumption of transit
According to Fico, Slovakia and the European Commission share a common position on the need to resume the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine.
"We agreed that transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline should be resumed," said the Slovak prime minister.
He also recalled that Slovakia has an exemption from the European Union's sanctions policy, which allows the country to purchase Russian oil. According to him, supplies can be delivered not only through the Druzhba oil pipeline, but also by sea. At the same time, this creates difficulties in cooperation with partners.
"However, we are facing a problem with our Croatian partners here, but I believe it can be resolved," Fico said.
Checking the condition of the oil pipeline
The Slovak Prime Minister said that during the meeting he showed the President of the European Commission satellite images which, according to him, prove that there is no damage to the oil pipeline on Ukrainian territory.
According to Fico, this information may indicate that the decision to suspend transit was made by the Ukrainian side.
He also added that the European Commission is ready to support the inspection of the technical condition of the pipeline.
"If the Druzhba oil pipeline is damaged, it must be repaired and put back into operation as soon as possible. Slovakia and the EC are ready to provide expert resources for repairs, and the European Commission is ready to finance any necessary work," Fico said.
According to him, Slovakia and the European Commission are interested in sending an inspection team to Ukraine to check the technical condition of the oil pipeline.
- Earlier, Fico said that his country was ready to block the EU loan to Ukraine in the amount of €90 billion, as Hungary had done.
