Fico stated that they talked about Ukraine all day but reached no agreements
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico complained that during the European Council summit on March 19, they spent the entire day “talking about Ukraine,” yet there has been no progress in resuming Russian oil supplies.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Fico’s post on Facebook.
Read also: A failure of 90 billion: how the EU leaders’ summit ended for Ukraine and is there a “Plan B”
According to the Slovak Prime Minister, the first part of the summit was entirely dedicated to discussing a €90 billion loan for Ukraine and issues with the Druzhba oil pipeline. Fico announced a state of emergency in Slovakia’s oil sector due to the cessation of Russian oil supplies.
He accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of making a “unilateral decision” to halt transit and called it “illegal interference in the electoral campaign in Hungary.” Fico believes that Ukraine is intentionally causing economic harm to EU countries, despite the assistance received.
Fico emphasized that Slovakia and Hungary have the right to receive Russian oil until the end of 2027. He also expressed outrage that the European Union cannot “force” Ukraine to resume the operation of the pipeline.
The Slovak Prime Minister confirmed readiness for further actions against Ukraine. He reminded that one of these measures has already been the cessation of emergency electricity supplies. Fico stressed that relations with Ukraine cannot be a “one-way ticket,” and he refused to coordinate decisions in favor of Kyiv on behalf of his country.
The problem with the loan
It is worth noting that Hungarian pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which he himself approved in December. This caused outrage in the EU – Orban crossed a line beyond which the EU would no longer remain silent.
For example, Germany expressed outrage, while Sweden has openly stated its readiness to consider Article 7 of the EU Treaty – a mechanism to deprive Hungary of its voting rights. President of the European Council António Costa called Orban’s behavior “unacceptable.”
At the same time, the summit noted that the European Union could begin transferring funds to Ukraine under the €90 billion loan as early as the beginning of April. However, no progress was made on this after the first day of negotiations.
Slovakia and Druzhba
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Fico and invited him to visit Ukraine. Zelensky suggested discussing the situation surrounding the Druzhba oil pipeline.
However, Fico stated that a meeting with Zelensky is possible, but it will only take place after Bratislava consults with the European Commission and Hungary regarding the transit of Russian oil.
After Ukraine announced that the repair of the pipeline would take one and a half months, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár noted the need to send experts to Druzhba. According to him, Bratislava is skeptical about the repair timelines announced by Kyiv.
