Oil supplies to Hungary via Druzhba pipeline to resume tomorrow, but there’s catch - Szijjártó
Photo: Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Foreign Minister (flickr / institut_ire)
Hungary will start receiving Russian oil through the damaged Druzhba pipeline as soon as tomorrow. However, it will operate only in test mode, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Facebook.
According to him, the damage from the attack on the Druzhba pipeline was "so significant" that repair work will take several days.
"We discussed the situation over the phone with Deputy Russian Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin. It turned out that through intensive work, a technical solution was found, which will allow oil supplies to Hungary to resume from tomorrow, initially in test mode and at a reduced volume," Szijjártó added.
He clarified that Hungary has sufficient domestic oil reserves, so the strategic reserve has not been used.
The Hungarian foreign minister also complained that some local politicians and media are justifying Ukraine, which "destroyed the pipeline." Szijjártó is also dissatisfied that the European Commission only states that "there is no risk to supply security."
"We also call on Ukraine not to attack the pipeline directed to Hungary in the future and not to jeopardize the country’s energy security," the politician said.
Strikes on the Druzhba pipeline
Over the past few weeks, Ukrainian defenders have attacked the Druzhba pipeline infrastructure on Russian territory three times. After each attack, oil supplies to Hungary were halted.
Against this backdrop, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó complained that such attacks are an "attempt" to drag Hungary into the war. Hungary also threatened to stop electricity supplies to Ukraine.
For more details on the purpose of these attacks by Ukraine, see the RBC-Ukraine material.
