Szijjártó: EU may have influenced Ukraine’s Lukoil oil decision
Photo: Peter Szijjártó, Hungarian Foreign Minister (Getty Images)
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó suggested that the European Union could ask Ukraine to stop the transit of Lukoil oil to Hungary and Slovakia, according to the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.
Szijjártó said that it has been over a week since Hungary and Slovakia asked for action against Ukraine over its decision to halt the transit of Lukoil oil, but the European Commission has done nothing.
The Hungarian official again accused Ukraine of violating the EU Association Agreement and also mentioned the threat to the energy security of the two countries.
"There are two possibilities. First, the European Commission is so weak that it cannot defend the fundamental interests of two member states against a candidate country. Second, Brussels, not Kyiv, has invented all of this; it is the European Commission, not the Ukrainian government, that wants to blackmail two countries that advocate for peace and reject arms supplies," he added.
Szijjártó demands that the European Commission "immediately admit" whether Brussels asked Kyiv to ban the transit of Lukoil oil. If not, the Minister wants an explanation from the EU executive "why it is taking no action".
Background
It has recently become known that Russian Lukoil oil stopped flowing to Hungary and Slovakia due to Ukraine's ban on transit through its territory.
Hungary and Slovakia reacted sharply. Szijjártó threatened Ukraine with arbitration if an agreement could not be reached through EU consultations. However, after a week, consultations had not yet begun, and the European Commission had not made a decision on the matter.
Meanwhile, Slovakia threatened to halt diesel exports to Ukraine if the transit of Russian oil was not restored.
