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The European Commission has decided not to mediate in a dispute over a blockade of Russian oil supplies to Hungary via Ukraine, Hungary’s foreign policy chief said on Saturday, suggesting Brussels was behind the blockade.
Hungary and Slovakia have been protesting since Ukraine added Russian oil producer Lukoil to its sanctions list in June, banning Russian oil shipments through Ukrainian territory to Slovak and Hungarian refineries.
The unconfirmed accusation by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó came a day after the European Commission rejected a request from Hungary and Slovakia to mediate with Ukraine over the sanctions.
“The fact that the European Commission said it was not ready to help secure energy supplies to Hungary and Slovakia shows that this order sent from Brussels to Kiev creates challenges and problems for energy supplies to Hungary and Slovakia,” he told a conference.
A European Commission spokesman declined to comment on Szijjártó’s allegations.
The European Union has supported Ukraine since Russia began its aggression in 2022 and has repeatedly urged EU countries to end their dependence on Moscow for energy supplies. The EU has imposed sanctions on most Russian oil imports.
On Friday, a European Commission spokesman said there were no signs that Ukraine sanctions had jeopardized energy supplies to European countries, and that Russian oil continued to flow through the Druzhba pipeline, which also connects Russia with Slovakia and Hungary through their territory Ukraine. As of press time, the Ukrainian government has not yet responded.
Slovakia and Hungary, both EU members, have opposed Western allies providing military aid to Ukraine as it fights Russian aggressors.
The southern branch of the pipeline runs through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and has been the main source of supply for refineries in these countries for many years.
Mr Szijjártó made similar comments last month, accusing the European Commission of blackmail over the oil dispute and saying that perhaps “it is Brussels, not Kiev, that is orchestrating everything”.
Hungarian oil company MOL is in the final stages of discussions to find a way to secure supplies of Russian crude oil, a Hungarian government official said Thursday. /Voice of America
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