Ukraine applied enhanced economic sanctions against Russia in July, which led to the stoppage of Lukoil deliveries to Slovakia and Hungary as the company was no longer permitted to use Ukrainian transit infrastructure.

In a video post, Fico, who has been a vocal supporter of Vladmir Putin, spoke in favor of future cooperation with Russia and said diesel provided by Slovnaft accounted for 10% of Ukraine’s total requirement.

“I refuse to take part in a debate about which came first, the chicken or the egg,” he said. “The fact is, some of our oil is missing.”

Fico said he and his foreign minister had received Ukraine’s ambassador to Bratislava, Myroslav Kastran, and told him that Kyiv’s sanctions hurt Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary while leaving Russia virtually unscathed. He also told Ambassador Kastran that the issue of crude oil transiting Ukraine would not change his government’s position on the war, which is that the fighting must cease as trying to bring Russia to its knees benefits only arms producers.

Fico also said his government rejects the policy of a new iron curtain in Europe and that “If the European Union wants to free itself of the influence of the United States, it will have to consider ways of cooperating with the Russian Federation, which should include strategic raw materials.”