The supply of Russian oil to Hungary via the “Druzhba” pipeline, which passes through Ukraine, may resume next week after a break of several months.
This was stated by future Prime Minister Peter Magyar, Bloomberg reports.
According to him, the head of the Hungarian oil company MOL is planning a trip to Russia next week to negotiate the supply of Russian oil through a pipeline.
"Itʼs not enough to simply restart ʼDruzhbaʼ. We also need to supply oil there," said Magyar.
What about "Druzhba"?
Ukraine has suspended oil transit through the “Druzhba” pipeline since late January due to Russian attacks. For their part, Hungary and Slovakia, which received the vast majority of their oil through “Druzhba”, have said that Ukraine is blocking the oil route "for political reasons".
Hungary then blocked a €90 billion loan for Ukraine from the EU until Kyiv reopened the “Druzhba” oil pipeline. On February 26, Orbán wrote an open letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of anti-Hungarian policies and calling for the reopening of “Druzhba”.
Zelensky reacted and said that he would not restore the “Druzhba” pipeline damaged by Russia, because it involves Russian oil.
In March, Ukraine agreed to EU assistance to repair the “Druzhba” pipeline. At that time, Zelensky reported in a letter to the EU leadership that it would take about a month and a half to restore transit through the “Druzhba”. Already on April 14, Zelensky reported that the pipeline would be repaired by the end of April and that it would resume operations.
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