BUDAPEST: Hungary will face fuel shortages from September if full Russian oil flows are not restored, a government official said on Friday, accusing Ukraine of blackmailing it by partially suspending supplies.
Eastern European Union members Slovakia and Hungary have been hit by a stop in flows from Russian group Lukoil coming via Ukraine after sanctions were imposed on the company.This has put pressure on Hungarian and Slovak refineries, all owned by Hungary’s oil and gas group MOL.
It is also angering governments in Bratislava and Budapest which, in the Russia-Ukraine war, oppose sanctions against Moscow and sending military aid to Kyiv. They are seeking EU mediation in the dispute.
Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on Friday said Ukraine’s decision was blackmail for their positions on Russia’s war in Ukraine.“If the situation is not resolved, there will be a fuel shortage ... a solution must be found by September,” Gulyas told a news conference. “Ukraine is blackmailing the two countries that are standing for peace and ceasefire.”
Oil deliveries from other Russian suppliers have not been interrupted.Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak rejected Budapest’s accusations, saying that Ukraine’s decision to suspend Russian oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia had nothing to do with blackmail.
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