Zelenskyy: If Putin wanted to end war, he wouldn’t ask for energy blockade of Ukraine
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Office of the President of Ukraine)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of ending the war. Otherwise, he would not have asked Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to impose an energy blockade on Ukraine, said Zelenskyy during a press conference with Fico.
The President said he did not discuss the energy blockade issue with Fico. However, media reports were suggesting that Putin had demanded such actions from Slovakia.
"By the way, if a person wants to end the war, they probably wouldn’t ask Ukraine’s neighbors to impose an energy blockade. Because it means that he wants to attack our energy sector," the head of state explained.
Zelenskyy added that Putin understands that Ukraine is successfully defending its energy infrastructure and importing electricity from Europe. Putin wants to block this process, but it is simply impossible.
"First, we are defending ourselves; he constantly wants to impose a blockade, but we have the right to import and are grateful to Slovakia. I think the scariest thing is that they even raise this issue. And I think that’s the problem because we are not putting enough pressure on Russia to make them think about ending the war," Zelenskyy summarized.
Fico himself said that during his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the possibility of an energy blockade of Ukraine was not discussed. According to him, this topic was not raised at all during the meeting.
However, according to the Kremlin transcript, during the meeting in China, Fico complained to Putin that Ukraine was attacking infrastructure that is very important to Slovakia. In response, Putin suggested that Slovakia and other Eastern European countries cut gas and electricity supplies to Ukraine.
Meeting between Zelenskyy and Fico
Slovak media reported the start of the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Uzhhorod around 3:50 p.m. The discussions were expected to focus on energy infrastructure issues, including Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Following the meeting, President Zelenskyy said that Slovakia supports Ukraine on its path to joining the European Union. He also proposed that Slovakia become part of a security guarantees system for Ukraine.
