Hungary and Slovakia ask Croatia to allow transit of Russian oil bypassing Ukraine
Budapest and Bratislava have asked Zagreb to ensure the supply of Russian oil by sea via the Adria pipeline after the suspension of transportation via Druzhba.
This was announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, according to Censor.NET.
As noted, Szijjártó, together with Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Saková, sent a letter to Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjara requesting permission to transport Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adria pipeline in accordance with EU rules.
The transport of Russian crude oil through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline has been halted since the end of last month following large-scale attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
According to Szijjártó, Hungary and Slovakia have previously secured exemptions from sanctions, allowing them to purchase Russian oil and providing an alternative to maritime supplies in the event of pipeline transit being halted.
"This exemption from sanctions also means that if transportation via the pipeline becomes impossible, we will be able to receive Russian oil by sea," he said. The Hungarian minister also claims that Ukraine is not resuming oil supplies via Druzhba for political reasons.
"Energy security cannot be an ideological issue for any country, so we expect that Croatia, unlike Ukraine, will not risk the security of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia for political reasons," added Szijjártó.
