Slovakia will insist on the assistance of the European Commission to restore the Druzhba pipeline to Ukraine, announced Prime Minister Robert Fico.
„We will insist on the European Commission to assist us in resuming the Druzhba pipeline. I remind you again that we are allowed to receive oil and gas from the east until 2027. We can receive this oil and gas. We are not doing anything that would contradict the decisions of the European Union“, the prime minister said in a video posted on Facebook
„Without this pipeline, we will have huge problems.“
Due to the suspension of oil pumping along The closure of the Druzhba pipeline by the Kiev authorities has forced the Bratislava refinery Slovnaft, which specializes in processing Russian crude, to buy oil from other sources at "extremely high prices". It is delivered by sea to Croatia and from there to the republic via the Adria pipeline.
Meanwhile, according to Fico, Bratislava is confident that the Druzhba pipeline is not damaged, as Kiev claims, and is operational. If the situation in the Middle East does not stabilize, the Slovak authorities are considering introducing oil-saving measures. This could include reducing ticket prices for trains and other public transport to encourage drivers to temporarily avoid driving.
Fico noted that the Slovak authorities “consider it wrong to support the war in Ukraine“. “There are Western European countries that want the war in Ukraine to continue because they believe that this is the only way to weaken Russia economically, politically and at the international legal level. This strategy does not work“, the prime minister said.