Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Ukraine's decision to halt Russian crude oil transit shipments to Hungary is "incomprehensible and unacceptable”, adding, however, that "supplies to Hungary have been stabilized by way of temporary solutions".
Answering questions at a press conference on Friday, Minister Szijjártó said the facilities applied “will not work in the medium term”, adding it was necessary to find a quick solution. Minister Szijjártó noted that Hungary and Slovakia had been exempted from a European Union sanction banning the use of the Druzhba pipeline which supplies oil from Russia to the region. “So far … a correct energy cooperation has worked” between Hungary and Ukraine, he said, adding that “Hungary has helped Ukraine many times and in many ways to ensure the security of their energy supplies.” “Reports about Ukraine changing their regulations under which shipments by Russia’s Lukoil cannot transit Ukraine to Hungary came out of the blue,” the foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying. Lukoil supplies one half of the oil imported from the east by pipeline, the statement said, adding that Hungary and Slovakia purchased an annual two million tonnes of crude oil from the Russian company. “The Ukrainian decision will seriously impact the security of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia in the long term,” Szijjártó said.