Zelenskyy Says Partners Asked Ukraine not to Attack Russian Oil Terminals
UKRAINE – Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Kyiv was asked by its partners not to attack Russian oil terminals, over the strain caused by the Strait of Hormuz disruption.
“I won’t say who asked us for this. But the partners asked, that’s a fact. They asked at different levels: from the political to the military leadership,” Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists reported by Ukrainian media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform.
Zelenskyy said that amid ongoing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, partners have sent different signals to different countries, and that Ukraine was asked to reduce strikes on Russian oil terminals in this context.
Expressing that this is asked with the belief that these strikes would have an impact on energy prices, Zelenskyy argued that, in his opinion, Russian oil does not have a significant impact on the world market.
Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent times, including in the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, with the intent of reducing the country’s revenues from sale of hydrocarbons amid the over four-year Russia-Ukraine war.
Speaking about the Druzhba oil pipeline, Zelenskyy said that its repairs will be completed “this spring” and that “a lot” has already been done in this regard.
He further argued that if Russia chooses a “path of de-escalation,” there will be a trilateral meeting between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington, which will be scheduled to be held sometime between April and June.
“I think these are key months for them (Russia). And I think it will be very difficult for us until September,” Zelenskyy said, stating the US will be more focused on domestic processes with the start of the summer and that it will have a “kind of internal political deadline” of about August.
“That is, this spring-summer time will be quite difficult politically, diplomatically. There may be pressure on Ukraine (to end the war). And there will be pressure on the battlefield as well. But we understand what Ukraine’s national interests are and what can guarantee security,” he added.
The Ukrainian president also announced the arrival of a news batch of Patriot missiles, and declared he will conduct talks “in the near future” with European countries on defense against Russian drones and Ukraine’s EU accession, among other topics.
Regarding his meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus last Sunday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to cooperate with Syria in the field of food security and infrastructure.
“We have agreed with the President of Syria on serious contracts in the agro-industrial complex. And we see opportunities here for other countries in the region as well,” he added.
