Blanar Gives Instructions Not to Block 20th Sanctions Package

Bratislava, 23 April (TASR) - Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) stated on social media that he's instructed Slovakia's permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels not to block the written procedure for adopting the 20th package of sanctions against Russia at the EU level as long as oil continues to flow through the Druzhba pipeline without interruption and at the agreed volumes, TASR reported based on Blanar's post published on a social network on Thursday. "It's been confirmed that oil is flowing through Druzhba to Slovakia, and this is partly the result of concentrated pressure exerted by Slovak diplomacy along with the Economy Ministry on Ukraine, as well as on the European Commission," wrote Blanar. In his post on social media, the head of Slovak diplomacy expressed his gratitude to all those who contributed to this outcome. According to him, it can be stated that "defending national interests is absolutely crucial, especially in these unstable times in the energy sector". On Wednesday (22 April), EU-member states agreed to impose a new package of sanctions against Russia, although the agreement will still have to be formally confirmed via a written procedure that is due to be completed by 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. Slovakia and Hungary stated that they would only give their approval if oil supplies via Druzhba were resumed. According to Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD), oil began flowing into Slovakia at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday after a hiatus of nearly three months. jrg/df