Budapest (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accuses the EU of orchestrating a blockage of Russian oil supplies via Ukraine, following the European Commission’s refusal to mediate.
Why Does Hungary Believe the EU Is Behind the Russian Oil Blockage?
Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto expressed that the European Commission’s decision not to negotiate in a dispute over a blockage of oil supplies from Russia via Ukraine into his country indicated that Brussels was behind the blockage. Hungary and its neighbour Slovakia have been protesting since Ukraine placed Russian oil producer Lukoil on a sanctions list in June, preventing that company’s oil from passing through the Ukrainian region to Slovak and Hungarian refineries.
What Are the Implications of Ukraine’s Sanctions on Russian Oil for Hungary and Slovakia?
The declaration from Hungary’s Peter Szijjarto came a day after the European Commission rejected a request from Hungary and Slovakia for it to mediate between them and Ukraine over the sanctions. “The fact that the European Commission stated that it was unwilling to help to secure the energy reserve of Hungary and Slovakia suggests that the order was sent from Brussels to Kyiv to generate challenges and problems in the energy supply of Hungary and Slovakia,” Szijjarto said at a conservative political festival.
How Has the European Commission Responded to Hungary’s Accusations?
A European Commission spokesperson denied to comment on Szijjarto’s remarks. The EU Commission, which has been supporting Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, has repeatedly encouraged EU countries to end their reliance on energy supplies from Moscow. The EU has levied sanctions on most Russian oil imports.
EU Commission spokesperson expressed there were no indications that Ukraine’s sanctions had threatened European energy supplies, as Russian oil continued to pour through the separate Druzhba pipeline, which also borders Russia to Slovakia and Hungary via Ukraine.
Ukraine’s government did not immediately react to a request for comment on the Hungarian statement.
Slovakia and Hungary are both EU nations that have opposed Western allies’ military assistance to Ukraine as it fights the invasion that Russia undertook in February 2022. The pipeline’s southern branch operates through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and has acted as their refineries’ primary supply source for years.
Last month, Szijjarto created similar comments when he blamed the European Commission for blackmail in the oil dispute and expressed that maybe it was “Brussels, not Kyiv, that invented the whole thing.” A Hungarian government official expressed that Hungarian oil company MOL was in the final phases of discussions to establish a plan to ensure crude oil flows from Russia.
