Fico feels Kyiv's disinterest in resuming oil transit in call with Zelenskyy, but agrees to talks

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the offer of Hungary and Slovakia to inspect the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which transported Russian oil, citing the negative position of Ukrainian special services, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after a call with Zelenskyy on Friday.

"From a conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, I got the clear impression that the Ukrainian side is not interested in resuming oil transit through the territory of Ukraine," Fico said on Facebook.

He informed Zelenskyy that the suspension of oil transit causes logistical difficulties and economic losses for Slovakia.

"The conversation confirmed that we have different views on the state of the oil pipeline," the prime minister said.

According to him, Slovak intelligence information claims that the oil pipeline is not damaged and nothing is preventing the transit of oil, while the Ukrainian president insists that repairing the oil pipeline requires a lot of time.

The head of the Slovak government also complained to Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian side has not yet allowed the Slovak ambassador in Kyiv to inspect the oil pipeline and that the European Union ambassador to Ukraine has not been given such an opportunity.

At the same time, Fico accepted the invitation of the Ukrainian president to hold joint negotiations with the Slovak side on all aspects of Ukrainian-Slovak cooperation. He asked the government and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, in cooperation with the Ukrainian side, to find a suitable date for such a meeting, giving preference to a meeting with the Ukrainian president on the territory of one of the EU member states, "which the Ukrainian president visits intensively."