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Hungary and Slovakia, which have both received a temporary
exemption from a European Union policy prohibiting imports of
Russian oil, have accused Ukraine — without providing evidence —
of deliberately holding up supplies.
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, Hungarian Foreign
Minister Péter Szijjártó said the interruption to oil deliveries
was "a political decision made by the Ukrainian president
himself.”
Ukraine has denied such accusations.
Szijjártó added that Hungary has enough oil reserves to last
more than three months, and that its energy security was
assured.
As nearly every country in Europe has significantly reduced or
entirely ceased Russian energy imports, Hungary — an EU and NATO
member — has maintained and even increased its supply of Russian
oil and gas since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine in February
2022.
Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long
argued Russian fossil fuels are indispensable for its economy
and that switching to energy sourced from elsewhere would cause
an immediate economic collapse — an argument some experts
dispute.
Widely seen as the Kremlin's biggest advocate in the EU, Orbán
has vigorously opposed the bloc’s efforts to sanction Moscow
over its invasion, and blasted attempts to hit Russia’s energy
revenues that help finance the war.
Facing what promises to be the most challenging election of his
last 16 years in power in April, Orbán has launched an
aggressive anti-Ukraine and anti-EU campaign, seeking to
convince voters that the neighboring country poses an
existential risk to Hungary and that he is the only guarantor of
its safety.
Following the interruption to Druzhba oil supplies at the end of
January, Hungary's government asked neighboring Croatia to allow
Russian oil delivered by sea to be pumped to refineries in
Hungary and Slovakia via the Adria pipeline.
Croatia's Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar has said his country
would not allow energy supplies in Central Europe be threatened,
but pushed back on Hungary's request.
Writing on social media site X on Monday, Šušnjar said there are
“no technical excuses left for staying tied to Russian crude for
any EU country.”
“A barrel bought from Russia may appear cheaper to some
countries, but helps fund war and attacks on Ukrainian people,”
he wrote.
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