The Ukrainian authorities’ decision to cut off Lukoil’s oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary has angered these countries. They accused Kiev of encroaching on their energy security and demanded that the EU resolve the situation, Bloomberg writes.
The dispute over Russian black gold has “stirred up” Eastern Europe. With its decision to stop the transit of Lukoil oil through its territory, Kiev has sent an unambiguous signal to Budapest and Bratislava that they need to urgently refuse Moscow’s supplies, Bloomberg writes.
Hungary and Slovakia, which buy a third of their crude oil from Lukoil, accused Zelenskyy’s government of encroaching on their energy security. They have instructed the European Union to mediate a solution and threatened to use a dispute settlement mechanism if their demand is not met.
But Budapest and Bratislava will probably find little sympathy in Brussels. They received temporary relief from EU energy sanctions imposed on Moscow to find alternative sources of supply. More than two years have passed, but none of the countries has been able to completely rid itself of its “attachment to Russian energy,” the paper argues.
Hungarian company Mol is expanding its capacity to refine oil from other sources. But at the same time, Viktor Orban’s government is increasing its reliance on energy contracts with Russia, which has irritated Kiev and its EU and NATO partners, the paper said.
It remains to be seen whether Ukraine will concede in the crude dispute, as Bulgaria did last year after a short-lived attempt to impose a transit tax on Russian gas. At the time, Budapest called the measure a “hostile move” that threatened its economy, Bloomberg recalls.