Zelensky urges Slovakia to stop buying Russian oil after Trump’s push

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday pressed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to stop purchasing Russian oil, reinforcing recent calls from the White House for European nations to halt funding Moscow’s war machine.

During a meeting in Zakarpattia, Ukraine, Zelensky emphasized that Kyiv could supply oil and gas to Slovakia — but only if the energy was not sourced from Russia. “We are ready to supply gas and oil to Slovakia, but only if it’s not Russian gas or Russian oil because we are at war — that’s the bottom line,” Zelensky said.

In a post on X following the meeting, Zelensky underscored the importance of energy independence across Europe. “Russian oil, just like Russian gas, has no future,” he wrote.

His remarks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly urged European leaders to reduce their reliance on Russian energy — a move the White House said could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin toward peace negotiations.

The Biden administration has considered imposing secondary sanctions on nations that continue to buy Russian oil but has yet to follow through. According to a White House official, President Trump participated in a recent “Coalition of the Willing” meeting with European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron. “President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war — as Russia received $1.3 billion in fuel sales from the EU in one year,” the official said.

Zelensky said he shared details of his conversations with Trump during his Friday meeting with Fico. “We discussed the work with leaders of the coalition of the willing to bring peace closer and guarantee Ukraine’s security — about the security architecture for Europe,” Zelensky said, adding that “Slovakia will not stand aside.”

Slovakia, along with Hungary, remains one of the top European buyers of Russian oil. The EU granted both countries exemptions from its 2022 embargo on Russian crude due to their heavy dependence on Moscow’s energy supplies. However, despite their vocal opposition to the Kremlin, France, Belgium, and Spain accounted for roughly 85% of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in 2024, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Meanwhile, neighboring Czech Republic fully divested from Russian oil earlier this year in protest against the war, marking a significant shift.

Slovakia’s stance toward Moscow has been notably softer than that of many EU nations. This week, Fico attended a military parade in China alongside Putin — a move that raised concerns among Western allies wary of growing ties between Russia and China. Fico later said he held a one-hour meeting with Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine, a summary of which he shared with Zelensky.

“President V. Putin informed me about the course of negotiations with U.S. President D. Trump in Alaska and about the prospects for ending this military conflict,” Fico said Thursday. “From this important conversation, I drew several conclusions and messages that I intend to convey to Ukrainian President V. Zelensky.”

However, the contents of those messages were not made public by either leader.

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