"We can guarantee Hungary's oil supply in the long term, despite the measures and the negligence of Kyiv and Brussels."Continue reading
The European Commission has rejected a request by Hungary and Slovakia to mediate between Budapest and Bratislava and Ukraine over sanctions imposed on Russian oil company Lukoil in Kiev, a spokesman for the EU Commission announced on Friday.
According to the statement, the committee has come to the preliminary conclusion that immediate consultations are not justified.
The spokesperson emphasized that
Brussels saw no indication that the Ukrainian sanctions would jeopardize European energy security,
adding that the sanctions on Lukoil would not affect oil transit operations on the Friendship pipeline, as long as Lukoil was not the official owner of the oil.
The lack of action by the European Commission proves that instructions may have been sent from Brussels to Ukraine to cause problems for the energy supply of Hungary and Slovakia by cutting off the oil transit of Russia’s Lukoil, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stressed in Tihany (northern shore of Lake Balaton), in response to the European Commission’s refusal to mediate between the parties.
The minister pointed out that “although the European Union has been fatally weakened by the self-destructive policies of Brussels in recent years, it cannot be so weak that it cannot protect the fundamental security interests of two member states against the amusement of a candidate country”.
Therefore, I think that the fact that the European Commission has declared its unwillingness to help Hungary and Slovakia with regard to their energy security proves that the instruction has been sent from Brussels to Kiev to create challenges and problems in the energy supply of Hungary and Slovakia,”
the politician underlined.
Mr Szijjártó noted that the government had worked hard in recent weeks to ensure the security of Hungary’s oil supply in the short and medium term, with all kinds of temporary solutions. “We are now very close to a solution that will guarantee in the long term that oil cooperation between Russia and Hungary, and between Russia and Slovakia, will continue as in previous years,” he added.
“As soon as these negotiations are over and all the necessary signatures are on the papers, we will of course announce it immediately,” he said. “However, I consider as shameful and self-revealing what the European Commission has or has not done in this matter,” the foreign minister concluded.
Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/MOL