Hungary and Slovakia turn to Ukraine's ally for Russian oil supplies
Photo: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (Getty Images)
Hungary and Slovakia, amid problems with the operation of the Druzhba pipeline, asked Croatia for help with importing Russian oil, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar, and Bloomberg.
Read also: Ukraine targets Druzhba pipeline: How attacks hit Russia and why Orbán is worried
Hungary and Slovakia’s request
According to Szijjártó, Ukraine refuses to restore oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline "for political reasons". Therefore, Budapest and Bratislava have appealed to Zagreb.
"We request Croatia to enable the transport of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adria pipeline, as our sanctions exemption provides the possibility to import Russian oil by sea if pipeline deliveries are disrupted," he said.
Croatia’s response
In response, Šušnjar wrote that Croatia is ready to help resolve the oil supply issue for Hungary and Slovakia, but only within European Union legislation and without violating US sanctions.
"No one should be left without fuel," the Croatian minister added.
Croatia is actively assisting Ukraine in its defense against Russia. In particular, in October, Kyiv and Zagreb agreed on joint weapons production.
Druzhba pipeline oil transit
Oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline via Ukraine has been halted since late January amid large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized that the transit problems began due to a Russian strike on the pipeline.
According to him, Budapest did not publicly react to that attack. However, previously, when the pipeline had been damaged as a result of Ukrainian operations, Hungarian officials immediately began threatening Ukraine.
