Hungary will block aid to Ukraine due to stoppage of oil transit

Hungary will not approve the allocation of €6.5 billion from the European Peace Framework as compensation to EU countries for arms supplies to Ukraine until Kiev resolves the issue of the transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said in interview with ATV portal.

“I clearly stated that until Ukraine resolves this issue (of oil transit -), everyone should forget about paying €6.5 billion as compensation for arms supplies from the European Peace Fund. Because what would it look like if we agreed to pay €6.5 billion while Ukraine threatens the security of our energy supply?” - Szijjártó wondered.

At the same time, he noted that Hungary and Slovakia threatened Ukraine with COURT in the EU due to violation of the association agreement. “Because the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine states that Ukraine cannot interrupt the transit of energy resources through Ukraine to EU member countries, either completely or partially,” the minister explained.

According to him, 33% of Hungary's crude oil imports and approximately 40–45% of Slovakia's crude oil imports come from Russia's LUKOIL. “Ukrainians must resolve this situation. We will not turn to another supplier just because the Ukrainians believe that we should do it at their whim. What if tomorrow they do the same thing to another company? We are the state. This is not a market or a flea market. We are a state that has contracts, energy supplies and a strategy for this,” Szijjártó emphasized.

Szijjártó announced the suspension of LUKOIL oil transit through Ukraine on July 17. The next day, Transpetrol, the operator of the Slovak section of Druzhba, announced this. Countries associate the cessation of oil transportation with the expansion of Ukrainian sanctions against the Russian company, including a ban on oil transit.

Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, in a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Denis Shmygal, called sanctions against LUKOIL senseless. According to him, Kyiv's decision means that the Slovak oil refinery Slovnaft, part of the Hungarian MOL group, will receive 40% less oil than it needs for processing. This could lead to the cessation of supplies of oil produced at Slovnaft to Ukraine, which constitutes almost a tenth of all Ukrainian consumption, Fico warned.

The Kremlin called the situation “quite a crisis” for Slovakia and Hungary. “Probably, the decision was made not at the technical, but at the political level. But here we don’t have any dialogue,” they emphasized.

Hungary and Slovakia receiveoil from RUSSIA via the Druzhba oil pipeline. Through it, Russian oil flows to the Belarusian Mozyr, and then is divided into two branches - northern (through Belarus and Poland to Germany) and southern (through Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary).

In December 2022, the EU banned the transportation of Russian oil by sea, and then petroleum products. An exception was then made for “Friendship”. However, in June last year, the European Union banned the transportation of oil along the northern branch of the pipeline as part of the 11th package of sanctions against Russia.