Moscow and Budapest are trying to resume supplies of Russian oil to Hungary after transit was blocked via the territory of Ukraine, the TASS news agency has reported, citing Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
In June, Kiev toughened sanctions on Russian oil major Lukoil by banning it from using Ukraine as a transit country for energy supplies. Lukoil clinched a five-year deal for exporting around four million tons of oil a year with Hungarian energy firm Mol back in 2019.
The companies are working on an effective solution to the transit issue, Szijjarto reportedly told journalists on the sidelines of a UN conference in New York shortly after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
“We discussed the issue of safe supplies of gas and oil to Hungary from Russia,” the minister said. “If we talk about oil supplies, a new legal situation has now arisen in Ukraine, forcing Lukoil to halt the supplies to Hungary.”
Ukraine introduced sanctions on Lukoil back in 2018, having banned the company from divesting its business in the country, as well as prohibiting trade operations and participation in the privatization or leasing of state property. The energy firm used to supply Hungary with Russian crude via the southern arm of the Druzhba oil pipeline that runs through the territory of Ukraine. Kiev’s latest move has prevented it from supplying the EU country.
Szijjarto added that Moscow and Budapest were working on a legal solution that would allow the two nations to resume oil deliveries, emphasizing that Russian crude was important for Hungary’s energy security.
“We have also discussed the issue of gas supplies, which suits Hungary very well. Gas supplied via the Turkish Stream pipeline provides us with reliable energy supply,” the top diplomat said.
The EU banned its member states from importing Russian crude on December 5, 2022, as part of the sixth package of Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow. However, pipeline supplies were exempted. Hungary, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, continued to import oil from Russia. In June 2023, Brussels approved the 11th package of sanctions, banning the transportation of oil from Russia along the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline to Germany and Poland. Oil supplies along the southern branch of Druzhba towards Hungary were not subject to sanctions.