Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 5 called on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico to end oil imports from Russia, a source of revenue that is believed to help Moscow sustain the more than three-and-a-half-year war in Kiev.
The European Union (EU) has imposed a ban on most Russian oil, but Slovakia and Hungary have been exempted to give themselves more time to find alternative sources. This has caused Kiev and Bratislava to clash repeatedly, as the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil runs through Ukrainian territory.
Speaking at a joint press conference in the city of Uzhgorod (Ukraine) near the Slovakian border, Mr. Zelensky stressed: “There will be no place for Russian oil and gas in the future,” affirming that Ukraine will continue to attack Moscow’s energy infrastructure.
Mr. Fico, who recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, said the conflict needed to end soon and left open the possibility of normalizing relations with Moscow, while admitting that there were “differences of opinion” with the Ukrainian side.
