Slovakia could refrain from purchasing Russian oil and gas if it had alternative sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday during a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
“We support your idea to stop buying Russian oil and gas. I have spoken with the Slovak Prime Minister. I think they need alternative ways and will support this idea,” Zelensky said, adding that he was not sure whether Slovakia was currently ready for such a step. However, he did not rule out that this could happen in the future.
According to the Ukrainian president, it is necessary to exert greater pressure on Russia, particularly through new European and American sanctions, in order to end the war. Zelensky also praised Trump's remarks that Ukraine could regain its entire territory from Russia, calling it “great progress.”
Trump told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday that Europe must immediately stop all purchases of energy resources from Russia.
In his speech, the US president also accused China and India of financing the war in Ukraine by buying Russian raw materials. In his opinion, the war will not end until these purchases are stopped.
At the same time, he again threatened Russia with drastic measures if President Vladimir Putin was not prepared to negotiate an end to the war. New sanctions would “end the bloodshed very quickly,” Trump said.
The US president announced this month that he had written a letter to all NATO member states asking them to stop buying oil from Russia. If they do so, he is prepared to impose comprehensive sanctions on Russia, provided that all allies in the alliance agree and act accordingly.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright had previously called on Slovakia and Hungary, which continue to buy fossil fuels from Russia, to abandon their objections to the EU's efforts to end energy dependence on Russia by 2027 and instead buy energy sources from the United States.
(tasr, rbc ukraine, est)