Szijjarto assessed that landlocked countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia are easy targets for blackmail regarding the supply of energy raw materials, and the announced product pipeline is a project independent of the oil pipeline, the construction of which is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
What plans did Peter Szijjarto announce in Belgrade?
What is the purpose of building the pipeline between Hungary and Serbia?
When will work on the construction of the oil pipeline connecting Hungary and Serbia begin?
What are the costs of fast train tickets from Budapest to Belgrade?
— To fend off blackmail from Kiev and Brussels, the best solution for (Hungarian concern) MOL is to purchase the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS). Then these three landlocked countries will be able to cooperate, and we will be more resistant to challenges and blackmail, such as the one that recently took place, Szijjarto said, referring to the suspension of Russian oil supplies through Ukraine after the Russian attack on the Druzhba pipeline.
The Serbian concern NIS has been subject to American sanctions because Russian entities have the majority of shares in it. The Hungarian MOL has reached a preliminary agreement with Gazprom Neft regarding the purchase of its majority shares.
— These difficult situations show who we can count on. “When the Serbs found themselves in a difficult situation, MOL more than doubled its (oil) exports, and now NIS has suggested that it is ready to export additional volumes of crude to Hungary in the coming days to help us in a situation where Ukraine is blackmailing us,” Szijjarto said.
Budapest accuses Kyiv. It's about the Druzhba pipeline
Budapest accused Kiev of deliberately delaying the resumption of transport of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Ukraine assured that the infrastructure damaged in the attack was still being repaired.
Serbian Minister of Mines and Energy Dubravka Djedović Handanović stated after a conversation with Peter Szijjarto that work on the construction of the oil pipeline connecting the two countries may start in the fall, and the goal is to complete the construction by the end of 2027.
On Friday, freight traffic on the high-speed railway connecting Budapest with Belgrade also began. Szijjarto announced that passenger traffic on this route will start on March 27 at the latest, and tickets that will be available for sale soon will cost approximately EUR 25.
