Hungary’s foreign minister has accused the European Union of impeding energy supplies from Russia

On Saturday, Hungary’s foreign minister stated that the European Commission’s decision not to intervene in a dispute regarding a blockage of crude supplies from Russia via Ukraine into his country indicated that Brussels was responsible for the cessation.

In June, Ukraine placed Russian oil producer Lukoil (LKOH.MM) on a sanctions list, which has prevented the company’s oil from transiting through Ukrainian territory to Slovak and Hungarian refineries. Hungary and its neighboring country, Slovakia, have been protesting.

Peter Szijjarto of Hungary made the assertion without providing evidence, a day after the European Commission declined a request from Hungary and Slovakia to mediate between them and Ukraine regarding the sanctions.

“The fact that the European Commission declared that it was unwilling to help to secure the energy supply of Hungary and Slovakia suggests that the order was sent from Brussels to Kyiv to cause challenges and problems in the energy supply of Hungary and Slovakia,” Szijjarto stated at a conservative political gathering.

A spokesperson for the European Commission declined to answer questions regarding Szijjarto’s statements.

The Commission has consistently encouraged EU countries to reduce their dependence on energy supplies from Moscow, a stance that has been adopted in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions have been implemented by the European Union on the majority of Russian crude imports.

A spokesperson for the European Commission stated on Friday that there were no indications that the sanctions imposed by Ukraine had jeopardized European energy supplies. This was due to the fact that Russian oil continued to travel through the Druzhba pipeline, which is a separate conduit that connects Russia to Slovakia and Hungary via Ukraine.

A request for comment regarding the Hungarian statement was not promptly addressed by Ukraine’s government on Saturday.

Hungary and Slovakia, both EU member states, have opposed the military assistance provided by Western allies to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.

For years, the southern branch of the pipeline has been the primary supply source for the refineries of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, passing through Ukraine.

Szijjarto made comparable remarks last month when he accused the European Commission of blackmail in the oil dispute and suggested that “Brussels, not Kyiv, may have invented the entire thing.”

MOL (MOLB.BU), a Hungarian oil company, was in the final phases of discussions to establish a scheme to guarantee crude oil flows from Russia, according to a Hungarian government official on Thursday.