Slovak Prime Minister complained to Ukrainian about stopping transit of Russian oil from Lukoil
Robert Fico and Denys Shmyhal (photo: t.me/Denys_Smyhal)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, criticized Kyiv’s decision to tighten sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil. The oil from Lukoil was used by the Bratislava-based refinery Slovnaft, according to TASR.
According to statements from Slovakia's government press office, Prime Minister Robert Fico views the Ukrainian-imposed restrictions as absurd. He argues that the sanctions primarily harm certain EU countries rather than Russia itself.
"Slovakia doesn't intend to be a hostage to Ukrainian-Russian relations, and the decision of the Ukrainian president means that the Slovak refinery Slovnaft, a member of the Hungarian MOL group, will receive 40 percent less oil than it needs for processing," Fico stated.
He added that this would not only impact the Slovak market but could also lead to a halt in oil supplies from Slovnaft to Ukraine, which constitutes almost a tenth of Ukraine's total consumption.
The Slovak government office also reported that Fico had been discussing the issue with relevant Cabinet members and officials from the Hungarian MOL group over the past few days.
What preceded it
In June, Ukraine expanded its sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil, which had been initially imposed in 2018. The latest restrictions affected oil transit.
Recently, it was reported that Ukraine has halted the transit of Lukoil's oil to Slovakia.
The Slovak side predicts that the long-term supply shortage could negatively impact the operation of the Bratislava refinery.
On July 19, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó expressed Budapest's dissatisfaction with Ukraine's decision to stop the transit of Lukoil's oil. He mentioned that this issue might be brought up before a European Council meeting.
Szijjártó also noted that both Hungary and Slovakia rely on the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies approximately 2 million tonnes of oil annually from Lukoil.
