Slovak PM asks Zelenskyy in letter to resume Druzhba oil transit

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a letter to resume oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline.

Source: Fico's letter dated 12 March on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: In the letter addressed to the Ukrainian president, Fico wrote that he had received with regret the news that Zelenskyy has decided to stop oil transit to Slovakia, which he says has caused not only economic damage but also serious logistical problems.

"This decision can be compared to the unilateral termination of gas transit, which means that Slovakia loses significant revenues from transit fees," the Slovak prime minister said.

He claims that he has information suggesting that the damage from the 27 January Russian attack on the Druzhba pipeline was not severe enough to stop oil supplies from resuming.

Quote: "Therefore, the leaders of all political parties represented in the National Council of the Slovak Republic ask you to restore oil transit through your territory as soon as possible. If the Druzhba pipeline has been damaged, you should allow an inspection team from the European Commission and the affected countries to determine the extent of the damage on your territory, accept the European Commission's proposal to finance any repair works, and the Slovak Republic's offer to provide repair capacity for this purpose."

Details: Fico also called on the leaders of all political parties to sign the letter. It has already been signed by the heads of three ruling parties: Fico from Smer, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok from Hlas, and Andrej Danko, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, from the Slovak National Party.

The letter includes space for the signatures of the leaders of opposition parties Progressive Slovakia, Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), the Slovakia Movement and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH).

Representatives of SaS and KDH said they will not sign the letter. Progressive Slovakia suggested writing a joint letter to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin asking him to stop bombing Ukraine and killing people. The Slovakia Movement called Fico "a weak man" who writes letters instead of travelling to Ukraine. "Only a weak man writes letters to hide the fact that he failed to secure alternative oil routes for Slovakia," the party said.

Background:

• Hungary and Slovakia believe that Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline has not been resumed because of a political decision by Ukraine rather than damage to the infrastructure caused by Russian strikes, and on this basis, they are blocking a number of EU decisions important for Ukraine.

• On 11 March, a Hungarian delegation arrived in Ukraine to assess the condition of the Druzhba pipeline. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said the delegation had no official status or scheduled official meetings.
• A document later emerged confirming that the Ukrainian side had not approved the visit in the form proposed by Budapest. Slovakia did not join that "mission".

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