EU state accuses Kiev of blackmail

Ukraine has cut supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia and neighboring Hungary

Ukraine’s blocking of oil supplies from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia is unacceptable and amounts to blackmail, Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok has said.

Kiev stopped supplies of crude through the Druzhba pipeline to its neighbors last week, citing sanctions against Russian energy giant Lukoil.

Slovakia and Hungary are the only EU countries that are opposed to the bloc’s policy of providing military aid to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

“Ukraine has chosen to blackmail Slovakia and Hungary,” Sutaj Estok said in a video message on social media on Wednesday.

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“I consider Ukraine’s decision to cut off Lukoil’s oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary unacceptable. I refuse to let Slovakia and the Slovak people serve as an instrument of revenge between Ukraine and Russia,” he added.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last week held a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Denis Shmigal, to stress that Bratislava will not be “a hostage of Ukrainian-Russian relations.” 

The suspension of oil transit by Kiev has also been condemned by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, who noted that his country had helped Ukraine with the reverse flow of gas and electricity supplies.

Hungary and Slovakia were granted exemptions from an EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports introduced in 2022 as part of a wide array of sanctions on Moscow. Lukoil previously provided up to 50% of the oil needs of the two EU member states.

Following last week’s suspension of supplies, Budapest and Bratislava asked the European Commission to mediate with Kiev over the situation.

READ MORE: Member states appeal to EU over ‘hostile’ Ukraine

The European Commission has, however, stalled the request, citing a need to “gather evidence and assess the legal situation,” the Financial Times reported, citing EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.

None of the trade officials from fellow EU member states backed Budapest and Bratislava in a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issue, the outlet added, citing diplomatic sources.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that it did not see any “immediate” oil supply risks to the EU, according to Politico.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday threatened to block funds the EU has earmarked for Ukraine until Kiev resumes the transit of Russian crude.

READ MORE: EU state issues €6.5bn ultimatum to Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban drew condemnation from EU leaders earlier this month for his “peace mission,” during which he visited Kiev, Moscow, and Beijing in an effort to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict.