MOSCOW, 23 April. After a three-month shutdown, the flow of oil through the Druzhba oil pipeline to Slovakia has resumed, the CTK news agency reported, citing Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova.

Key facts about the situation: resumption of oil supplies via Druzhba

  • After a three-month shutdown, the flow of crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia has been restored, the CTK news agency reported, citing Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova.
  • Oil began arriving in the country after 2:00 local time (3:00 Moscow time, or 0:00 GMT) on April 23, the report said.
  • Slovakia receives oil in accordance with the plan agreed with Kiev, Sakova said.
  • Belarusian state concern Belneftekhim has confirmed information about the start of oil transit through the territory of the country towards Hungary and Slovakia, the BelTA news agency reported on 22 April.
  • Ukraine will resume the transit of Russian oil to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline on 21 April at noon, János Boka, Hungary's minister for EU affairs, said on 20 April.
  • On 21 April, Vladimir Zelensky said repairs to the allegedly damaged section of the Druzhba pipeline had been completed and oil pumping could resume, but did not give a timetable.
  • Approximately 13,500 tonnes of crude oil will be delivered to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday.

Views on the situation

  • Oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline would never have resumed if Hungary had not blocked a €90 billion EU credit line to Ukraine, Hungarian EU Affairs Minister János Boka said.
  • Hungarian and Slovak Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico made great efforts to „literally force the European Commission to kindly ask Zelensky to allow the European Commission experts to come and see whether the Druzhba pipeline was really damaged or not,“ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
  • The Druzhba pipeline remains the most efficient infrastructure for energy supplies to Europe and should be used to its full potential under normal relations, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.
  • Europe will have a problem surviving without oil imports from Russia, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said.
  • Stopping the pumping of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline has caused more than €10 billion in damages to citizens of EU member states, he said.
  • The Prime Minister expressed hope that Kiev's leadership would not stop the pumping of oil through the Druzhba pipeline.
  • The opening of the Druzhba pipeline on Thursday „clearly confirms that it was not damaged, but rather used as a tool in a geopolitical stalemate,“ Fico noted.

Predictions

  • Kiev could again stop gas supplies to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline even after receiving a new loan from the European Union, reports the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche.
  • The publication calls the restoration of the pipeline a „miracle of miracles“, noting that it happened overnight after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who blocked a multi-billion dollar loan to Ukraine, was removed from power.
  • Meanwhile, the magazine's observers point out that the issue of the Ukrainian loan „has not yet been finally resolved“ and that „the flow could dry up quickly“ once approval is obtained from the Slovak authorities to provide new loans to Kiev.

Problems with the operation of Druzhba

  • Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia were halted on 27 January.
  • Kiev claimed that one facility connected to it was damaged during military operations and transit had to be stopped along the entire route.
  • Hungary and Slovakia said that, according to their information, the repairs have long been completed and the pipeline is ready for operation, while Ukraine is blocking supplies only for political reasons.
  • The Ukrainian authorities did not allow EU specialists to inspect the Druzhba oil pipeline.
  • In response, Hungary has blocked a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine, saying that „until there is no oil, there will be no money“.
  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga later admitted that the main obstacle to the restoration of the Druzhba pipeline was Budapest's blocking of 90 billion euros in European funding for Kiev.
  • Due to the suspension of oil transit from Russia by Ukraine, the Hungarian government was forced to provide MOL with raw materials from the state strategic reserves.
  • Hungary receives more than 80 % of the oil it consumes through the Druzhba pipeline.

TASS/gnews.cz