Hungarian Minister for EU Affairs Janos Boka has announced the resumption of crude oil transport via the Druzhba oil pipeline.
According to him, the transport of oil from Belarus to Ukraine resumed at 11:35 today, which means that oil may arrive in Hungary as early as today, but no later than tomorrow morning.
“From the point of view of Hungary’s energy supply, it is vital that the Druzhba pipeline works and that our country can actually take advantage of its legal, cheap and reliable procurement opportunities through it,” he wrote on Facebook, noting that this is “especially important” against the backdrop of the crisis in the Middle East.
Boka added that in this situation Budapest was guided by “the principle of maximising sources and routes of supply, but by no means reducing them”.
In February, Hungary and Slovakia asked Croatia for help in obtaining Russian oil after supply disruptions through Ukraine. But Croatia said it was ready to help resolve the acute disruptions under EU law and OFAC rules, with the Adria pipeline ready.
The European Commission said Hungary and Slovakia could buy and receive the necessary volumes through Croatia. But the countries insist on receiving Russian oil.
Slovakia and Hungary blocked the approval of the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and a multibillion-dollar loan to Ukraine, which EU leaders agreed on at a summit in December. On 22 April, ambassadors of EU member states finally approved the loan for Ukraine and the package of sanctions against Russia.
The Druzhba oil pipeline, which transits through Ukraine, transports Russian oil to Europe, particularly to Hungary and Slovakia.
According to a study by Finland’s Centre for Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA) and Bulgaria’s Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), imports of Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia have generated €5.4 billion in revenue for the Kremlin since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine during 2022-2024. This is equivalent to the cost of 1,800 Iskander-M ballistic missiles.