BRATISLAVA, September 5. /TASS/. Slovakia is harmed by attacks on oil infrastructure in Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said as he called on the parties to the conflict in Ukraine to respect the interests of other countries that are part of the energy network.
"I respect the right of any country to defend its national interests but the interests of others should be respected too," the TA-3 television channel quoted him as saying after talks with Vladimir Zelensky in the city of Uzhgorod in western Ukraine when asked to comment on his recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
"We discussed the issue of attacks on oil infrastructure in Russia with the Russian president. Naturally, we also noted that Russian gas is not pumped to Slovakia across Ukraine. You know that this was the subject of very tough political statements from both sides. I won’t take back my statements about [economic] losses for Slovakia," he said, adding that strikes on oil infrastructure in Russia "are harmful for Slovakia."
According to the Slovak prime minister, Bratislava and Kiev have different views on issues of international politics and opposite approaches to energy matters. Slovakia, in his words, insists that all countries receive energy at acceptable prices from the sources they choose.
