Slovak PM Uses Middle East Crisis to Defend Russian Oil Pipeline Claims

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico used escalating tensions in the Middle East to reinforce his claims about the Druzhba oil pipeline during a press conference yesterday. Fico, who leads the ruling Smer-SD social-democratic party, displayed what he described as satellite images showing the pipeline's functionality, though he refused to show the images closely to journalists. He repeated his assertion that Ukraine is deliberately blocking Russian oil deliveries through the Soviet-era pipeline that supplies Slovakia and other Central European countries. Fico argued that rising oil prices due to Middle East conflicts make the Druzhba pipeline crucial for Slovakia, suggesting the regional crisis validates his government's position on maintaining energy ties with Russia despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.