Costa: Ukraine will assess timing of resumption of transit via Druzhba oil pipeline
The President of the European Council, António Costa, announced an agreement with Ukraine on assessing the timing of the resumption of oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.
According to Censor.NET, this was stated in his speech during a press conference in Kyiv, writes "European Truth".
"When an EU country has problems with a third country, it turns to the EU for help in resolving the issue. That is exactly what we are doing now. We have agreed that Ukraine will soon conduct an assessment of how much time is needed for recovery," Costa said.
EU position on loan for Ukraine
The President of the European Council called on Hungary to implement the decision to grant the loan. He also asked the European Commission to ensure that this decision is implemented in full.
Brussels emphasizes that the mechanisms for implementing European Council decisions must remain unchanged and that financial support for Ukraine is an important component of regional stability.
Ukraine proposes dialogue to resolve dispute
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv is ready to act constructively on the issue of oil transit.
According to him, Ukraine has already proposed several practical options for resolving the situation surrounding the Druzhba oil pipeline. These include both technical solutions and political dialogue at the highest level.
Sybiha said that Ukraine had repeatedly initiated a direct meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to normalize bilateral relations.
"We have repeatedly proposed to Hungary to hold a direct meeting between Prime Minister Orbán and President Zelenskyy to clear up their relations. But Budapest did not respond, choosing instead to issue public ultimatums and resort to blackmail," the foreign minister stressed.
Restoration of "Friendship"
Meanwhile, Ukraine has informed Transpetrol, the operator of Slovak oil pipelines, that the resumption of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline is scheduled for February 26.
This was reported by the Slovak Ministry of Economy. The ministry noted that it had expected the resumption of oil supplies via Druzhba a day earlier, on February 25, but Kyiv warned of a delay.
What preceded it?
- On January 27, Russian occupation forces struck a critical infrastructure facility belonging to the Naftogaz group in western Ukraine. The target of the attack was likely Ukraine's largest oil pumping station, located in Brody, which supplies the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
- The prime ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, accused Ukraine of delaying the restoration of the oil pipeline due to "political motives," and on February 18, the authorities of these two countries announced the suspension of oil exports to Ukraine in response to Ukraine's halt of Russian oil transit.
- In addition, Fico warned that Slovakia would also reconsider its support for Ukraine's European integration and could suspend electricity supplies.
- At the same time, Hungary received permission to import Russian oil via an alternative maritime route through Croatia with subsequent transportation via pipeline.
