SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE: Bulgaria offers to help Hungary with oil products
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Bulgaria has offered to help Hungary overcome the effects created by the sanctions imposed on the Russian oil group Lukoil by the authorities in Ukraine, which practically stopped the deliveries of Russian oil through the territory of Ukraine, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, said on Wednesday at the meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Cooperation in Energy and Climate (P-TECC), informs MTI.
“Although there is no direct link for oil transport, i.e. an oil pipeline, between the two countries, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister indicated that if we need additional quantities of oil products, they are able to deliver them to Hungary through various means”, said Szijjarto, quoted by Agerpres.
In parallel, Bloomberg announces that Hungary appealed to the European Union to mediate a solution with Ukraine, after Kiev decided to ban the transit of oil from a large Russian supplier.
“We count on the European Commission and we expect them to take measures”, said Peter Szijjarto, in Bucharest.
The official reiterated that Hungary will address the court, if the EU does not find a solution.
The EU executive has started to gather evidence and will monitor oil deliveries, said the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, who nevertheless sounded the alarm about the possible role of the Kremlin in the escalation of this dispute.
“The most important aspect is that we must be prepared for unilateral decisions that could come from Russia. This is not a reliable trading partner”, said Kadri Simson, at the meeting of the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC).
In December 2022, the European Union banned imports of Russian oil through pipelines, but exempted deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic from these sanctions, with the idea of providing a transition period for those countries that depend on crude oil delivered through the Drujba pipeline.
