Szijjarto accuses EU of purposefully obstructing smooth energy supplies to Hungary
Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto has stated that the European Commission's decision not to mediate in a dispute over a blockage of oil supplies from Russia via Ukraine into his country and Slovakia suggested Brussels was behind the stoppage.
This comes from an X message, seen by Ukrinform, posted by Zoltan Kovacs, the spokesman for the Hungarian government.
“FM Peter Szijjarto criticized the EU Commission for its lack of action regarding the Lukoil oil transit issue, suggesting that the absence on intervention points to instructions being sent from Brussels to Kyiv to disrupt Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy supply. Speaking in Tihany,Minister Szijjarto emphasized that despite the EU’s weakening due to what he called “self-destructive” policies, it should still be capable of defending the basic security interests of its member states against the actions of a candidate country”, Kovacs wrote.
Szijjarto also announced that Hungary is close to finalizing a long-term solution that will ensure "continued oil cooperation with Russia."
Read more: Hungarian statement that Croatia is “unreliable for oil transit” has caused outrage in Zagreb
Ukrinform reported that Slovakia and Hungary, in July, said they stopped receiving oil from their key supplier Lukoil after Ukraine had banned the Russian company to use Druzhba oil pipeline for its oil transit through Ukraine. The move angered authorities in Slovakia and Hungary, who argued that blocking supplies would jeopardize their energy security.
The European Commission received a letter of complaint from the Foreign Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia regarding the sanctions Ukraine imposed on Lukoil.
A spokesman for the European Commission said in a statement Friday that there were no indications Ukraine's sanctions had endangered European energy supplies, as Russian oil continued to flow through the separate Druzhba pipeline, which also connects Russia to Slovakia and Hungary via Ukraine.
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