Ukraine’s decision to stop transit of Lukoil oil is ’violation of Association Agreement’, - Szijjarto
Hungary has said that Ukraine's decision to stop the transit of oil from the Russian company Lukoil is an unacceptable step.
According to Censor.NET, citing European Pravda, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said this.
According to the minister, Ukraine's decision to put Lukoil on its sanctions list, which led to the suspension of oil transit, "fundamentally threatens the security of energy supply to Hungary and Slovakia".
"This is an unacceptable step by Ukraine, a country that wants to be a member of the European Union, which by one decision puts the supply of oil to two EU member states at fundamental risk. This decision by Ukraine is a clear violation of the Association Agreement," Sijjarto explained.
The Foreign Minister noted that in this case, the EU countries may immediately initiate a consultation procedure, where the European Commission will represent the affected member state, and in the future the case may go to arbitration.
Sijjarto clarified that the case is currently still at the consultation stage, without giving any further details.
Earlier, Politico reported that Hungary is facing a fuel crisis after it was left without Russian oil transported through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline.
On 18 July, Slovakia and Hungary announced that Ukraine had stopped the transit of Lukoil oil through the Druzhba pipeline.
"Lukoil has been under sanctions in Ukraine since 2018, but they were limited - they only concerned the withdrawal of capital, restrictions on trade operations, and a ban on participation in the privatisation or lease of state property. In June 2024, the National Security and Defence Council significantly expanded them, adding, among other things, a ban on transit.
