Novak considers Poland's bid to pump Russian oil a "theater of the absurd"

The Polish oil refinery Orlen has applied for the purchase of 3 million tons of Russian oil in 2023,wrote "Kommersant" with reference to sourcesAlexander NovakAlexander NovakAlexander Novak

Poland's actions regarding oil supplies from Russia are "a theater of the absurd," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. Kommersant, citing sources, previously wrote that the Polish oil refinery Orlen had applied to Transneft for the transit of 3 million tons of Russian oil through Druzhba in 2023.

“The theater of the absurd is what they do,” Novak said (quoted by TASS). At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister did not confirm or deny the information about the application from Poland, indicating that he learned about it from the media.

Reuters reported that the oil price ceilingalmost agreed for Russia Politics

The fact that Orlen may continue to purchase Russian oil in 2023 through the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline was told to the newspaper by a source from the Russian side and confirmed by an interlocutor in the Polish oil industry.

Vice-President of Transneft Sergey Andronov, in a commentary to the publication, announced “there are applications from Polish consumers for 2023 in transit through the Republic of Belarus.” He added that, despite the approaching date of entry into force of the EU embargo on Russian oil (December 5), the process of organizing supplies is "in working order."

Orlen confirmed the application, but called it a technical notice of demand in the event of the execution of contracts for the supply of oil from Russia, which are still binding on the company. “This is a standard procedure, which is solely a booking of potential capacity,” Orlen said, adding that they will comply with all measures and sanctions both at the national level and internationally.

In the summer, the EU approved an oil embargo against Russia, which provides for a ban on oil supplies, with the exception of that which is pumped to the EU countries through the Druzhba pipeline. The embargo on oil supplies comes into full force on December 5, on the supply of petroleum products on February 5.

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Bloomberg wrote that Warsaw insists on sanctions against the northern line of the oil pipeline (goes through the territory of Belarus) in order to obtain legal grounds for terminating existing contracts with Russia without penalties.