Russia deliberately halts oil supplies to Czechia - MFA

This was reported by Radio Prague International, Ukrinform saw.

“The Russians are playing the game again, it’s a classic,” Bartuška said, adding that “oil is still being supplied to Slovakia and Hungary.”

He also believes that the cessation of oil supplies is a “message from Russia.”

According to him, the country should “declare to the Russian Federation that it has no reason to be afraid.”

The state-owned oil pipeline operator Mero says the Czech Republic is not at risk of running out of fuel, as supplies via the western route continue, and state reserves may be drawn on to provide oil.

Earlier, a representative of the oil refining company Orlen Unipetrol, Pavel Kaidl, reported that on December 4, oil from the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline stopped flowing to the Czech Republic.

Earlier, at the suggestion of the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, Lukasz Vlček, the government agreed that in the event of a long-term reduction in oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, the government would allocate 330,000 tons of oil from reserve stocks to Orlen Unipetrol, which would be enough to cover more than a month of refinery operations.

Vlček added that the state is ready to transfer some more reserves if necessary.

Most EU countries stopped buying Russian oil after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Czech government previously said it would not seek an extension of the European ban on imports of Russian petroleum products. The exemptions expire on December 5, 2024. The ban on supplies was approved as part of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine. In addition to the Czech Republic, the exemption also extended to Slovakia and Hungary.

As Ukrinform reported, on December 4, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Lukasz Vlček announced that oil from the Russian Druzhba pipeline had stopped flowing into the country.