Kiev, accused by Slovakia and Hungary of blocking Russian oil supplies. Fico: “It's political blackmail”
Robert Fico Photo: Emil Vasko / News and Media / Profimedia
The Drujba pipeline, which transports Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia, has been repaired after recent breakdowns, but Ukraine may delay the resumption of supply to put pressure on Hungary to stop opposing Ukraine's accession to the European Union, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claims, quoted by Reuters.
“I think that what is happening today in relation to oil is a political blackmail against Hungary because of its uncompromising position on Ukraine's entry into the European Union,” said Robert Fico, after meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Bratislava.
The Ukrainian side announced that on January 27, one of the Russian attacks directed against the Ukrainian energy infrastructure targeted the Drujba oil pipeline.
“We know that the Hungarian side is preparing to complain about the problems with the transit of Russian oil,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sîbiha wrote on X, inviting Hungarian officials to demand explanations from Moscow.
Kiev mocks Budapest, after a Russian attack on the pipeline carrying Russian crude oil: “Let them turn to their “friends” in Moscow” / Peter Szijjarto's reply
“By the way, Hungary has not sent any note of protest to Russia about this. I can't even pronounce the word 'Russia' (…) The truth is that Moscow stopped being a reliable supplier from the moment it launched its aggression against Ukraine,” the diplomat from Kiev also wrote.
Budapest's response came a few hours later in a post on X by Peter Szijjarto, the Hungarian foreign minister, who said Volodymyr Zelenski had decided not to allow the resumption of oil deliveries to Hungary, even though there were no longer any technical problems.
“The goal is clear: to put the Hungarian government in a difficult position by jeopardizing our energy security ahead of the upcoming elections,” Szijjarto wrote.
But Ukrainian officials say repair work on the pipeline is stalling due to constant Russian attacks, so resuming pipeline deliveries is not yet possible.
Deliveries through Drujba were interrupted twice last year, in March and August, but then the interruptions were caused by Ukrainian attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure.
