Croatia ready to transport oil to Hungary and Slovakia, says Prime Minister
Photo: Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković (Getty Images)
Croatia is ready to transport oil to Hungary and Slovakia through the JANAF Adriatic oil pipeline, according to the Croatian news agency HINA.
Plenković said that he had sent a letter to the Hungarian and Slovak prime ministers and the head of the European Commission, expressing the readiness of Croatia and the JANAF oil company to transport oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
According to him, JANAF, the operator of the Adriatic oil pipeline, is ready to negotiate with the Hungarian energy concern MOL on logistics and energy security in the changed conditions.
According to Plenković, the letter was sent on Wednesday, July 31, in the context of Ukraine's decision to suspend the transit of oil from the Russian company Lukoil through its territory.
The head of the Croatian government emphasized his readiness to supply refineries in Hungary and Slovakia with more than 14 million tons of crude oil.
The supply is to be carried out through an oil pipeline connecting the terminal of the port of Omisalj on the Croatian island of Krk in the Adriatic Sea with the territory of Hungary.
What preceded it
Recently, it was reported that Ukraine has banned the transit of Russian oil from Lukoil to Hungary and Slovakia through its territory. Ukrainian sanctions against Lukoil were initially imposed in 2018.
Following this, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó threatened Ukraine with arbitration if an agreement could not be reached during consultations with the EU. However, these consultations have not yet begun, and the European Commission has not yet made a decision on the matter.
In turn, Slovakia threatened to halt diesel fuel exports to Ukraine if the transit of Russian oil was not resumed.
It has recently been reported that Ukraine is ready to participate in consultations on the situation with the transit of Lukoil oil to Slovakia and Hungary if the European Union makes a relevant decision.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that Ukraine has no intention of lifting sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil, as the imposed restrictions do not threaten the energy security of Slovakia or other European countries.
Additionally, the European Commission has preliminarily found no risks to the security of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia following Ukraine's sanctions against Lukoil.
