Earlier, Budapest stated that in order to approve the loan, Ukraine must resume oil transit through the pipeline. Fico noted that Slovakia is ready to “take over the baton from Hungary” if necessary.
The Prime Minister of Slovakia said that on March 10 he would discuss this issue with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
“I will continue to propose that the European Commission force the President of Ukraine [Владимира Зеленского]and she has all the leverage to do this, to allow a visit to the place where the oil pipeline is allegedly damaged,” Fico said.
He emphasized that Bratislava has information, including satellite images, which supposedly confirm that “everything is fine” with the oil pipeline. Fico also accused Zelensky of allegedly being “capable of destroying the oil pipeline.”
“I’m not naive. The President of Ukraine recently announced the resumption of supplies in a month or a month and a half – that is, after the elections in Hungary, where he expects the opposition to win. After that, there will be no chance of oil from the east, unless someone else takes over the baton from Hungary,” Fico said.
In addition, he said that he would offer the Chairman of the European Commission Slovak repair capacity if he had to “tighten some bolt” on the oil pipeline.
