The European Commission (EC) is behind the stoppage of flows of Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Saturday, citing Brussels’ refusal to mediate in their dispute with Kiev over the blockage as proof that the EC wants the stoppage.
In June, Ukraine halted the transit of crude supplied by Russian energy giant Lukoil via the Druzhba pipeline, citing its own sanctions on the company. The measure has directly hit landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, depriving them of oil previously exported by the company through Ukrainian territory.
“I think that the fact that the EС has declared its unwillingness to help Hungary and Slovakia to resolve the issue of securing energy supply proves the fact that Brussels instructed Kiev to cause challenges and problems in the energy sector for the two nations,” Szijjarto said, during an address at the political festival Tranzit, held in Hungary.
On Friday, the Commission declined Hungary and Slovakia’s request to intervene in the dispute between Budapest/Bratislava and Kiev, saying that Brussels had no indication that Ukraine’s sanctions had caused a risk to the security of Europe’s energy supply.
“Commission services have preliminarily concluded that urgent consultations do not appear to be warranted,” the spokesperson said, adding that Russian oil was still flowing through the Druzhba pipeline that connects Russia with the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary via the territory of Ukraine.
“It appears that the sanctions imposed by Ukraine on Lukoil do not affect ongoing oil transit operations via Druzhba carried out by trading companies, as long as Lukoil is not the formal owner of the oil,” the spokesperson said.
Last week, Politico reported that Budapest proposed a solution for the restoration of halted Russian oil flow by rebranding Lukoil’s products. That way the crude shipped via Ukraine could be officially sold to Hungarian energy giant MOL before it crosses the border. The arrangement could reportedly mean paying an additional $1.50 per barrel to secure transit outside of previous agreements.
Brussels prohibited transport of Russian crude oil by sea in December 2022 as part of the EU large-scale sanction campaign against Moscow. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have been granted exemptions by Brussels as they source alternative supplies.
Slovakia and Hungary are the only EU member states that have rejected the bloc’s policies on supplying Kiev with military aid amid the ongoing conflict with Moscow. Both states have repeatedly called for the crisis to be solved through diplomacy.
Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow is unsurprised that the EU has failed to resolve the issue for its member states surrounding Russian oil supplies to them, claiming that Brussels is using energy resources to blackmail Bratislava and Budapest.