Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) on Thursday at a meeting of the Slovak parliament’s Committee for European Affairs said U.S. aircraft flying over Slovakia follow agreed rules and regularly notify Slovak authorities. Since the start of the Middle East conflict, more than 500 U.S. flights have crossed Slovak airspace, many of them civilian.
Blanár also confirmed discussions about inspecting the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline after criticism that Slovakia was not part of a Hungarian delegation that visited Ukraine. He said Slovakia and the EU have asked Ukraine to allow a joint inspection, but Kyiv has so far refused.
At the same time, Blanár confirmed that Slovakia is involved in EU discussions about potentially removing Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from the EU sanctions list. The talks are ongoing as the EU prepares to decide whether to extend sanctions against more than 2,600 Russian individuals and entities.
Source: TASR, STVR
