Szijjártó: Hungary is suspending diesel fuel deliveries to Ukraine

Hungary has decided to stop supplying diesel fuel to Ukraine until the Ukrainians resume oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference following Wednesday's cabinet meeting. No crude oil has been delivered to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline since January 27, when Russia hit the pipeline, and deliveries have not resumed since then.

Hungary has held Ukraine responsible for the disruption in supply. Szijjártó said that due to "political blackmail" by the Ukrainians, no oil is arriving in Hungary, even though "all the technical, physical, and logistical conditions are in place for the resumption of oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary." This has prompted the Mol Group to turn to the Ministry of Energy and request the release of strategic oil reserves, while the European Commission has urged the Ukrainians to restore the Druzhba oil pipeline.

Szijjártó said that Hungary's oil supply is secured, as there are three months' worth of reserves on hand, and from mid-March, Russian oil arriving by sea will also be available. Russian oil imports are prohibited under current EU regulation, with Hungary and Slovakia being exceptions as both countries have been granted exemptions for transportation via pipeline. Along with the Slovakian prime minister, Hungary has notified the European Commission that it plans to import Russian crude oil until pipeline transport is restored. Mol has already ordered the necessary amount, a total of 500,000 tons Szijjártó said. The shipment is expected to arrive at the port in Croatia in early March, and from there it will take five to ten days to reach Mol's two refineries in Hungary and Slovakia.

Hungary had previously advocated for the launch of Janaf's oil pipeline from the Croatian coast, but Croatia did not allow Russian oil to be transported, citing the oil sanctions. In mid-February, Péter Szijjártó and Denisa Saková, Slovak Minister of Economy, approached Ante Šušnjar, Croatian Minister of Economy, requesting that Croatia immediately allow the transport of Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia in accordance with EU regulations.

The Hungarian demand is all the more interesting because, just a few months ago, Hungary was still disputing whether the capacity of the Adria oil pipeline was sufficient, claiming that Croatia was simply trying to profit from the war. Janaf rejected this claim at the time.

The Croatian Minister of Economy responded to Szijjártó's demand that Hungary be allowed to transport Russian oil by sea via the Adriatic pipeline with a sarcastic post.

“It’s genuinely heartwarming to hear Hungary speak with such conviction about EU law, European values, and binding obligations. When those words are more than a talking point or a tweet, they are exactly what keep our region stable and secure” – Ante Šušnjar wrote in response to Szijjártó's Tuesday post, adding a jab at the end: "As the Yes, Minister TV series puts it: “Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.” Especially when last year’s “no capacity” suddenly turns into this year’s “EU obligation.”

As a recent study has revealed, rather than reducing their dependence on Russian crude oil since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Hungary and Slovakia have instead substantially increased it.