Oil to Slovakia resumes in pipeline through Ukraine
The flow of Russian oil to Slovakia has resumed via the Druzhba pipeline crossing Ukraine; This is a breakthrough in an issue that has caused a major diplomatic debate in Europe.
This development is expected to unblock a major financial aid package for war-torn Ukraine.
Populist Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico welcomed the development, calling it “good news”.
Hungary and Slovakia entered into a rivalry with Ukraine because Russia’s oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia through the pipeline were stopped in January after the pipeline was damaged.
Ukrainian officials blamed the damage on Russian drone strikes.
Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, who was defeated in a recent election, accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying repairs, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denied.
Fico said on Thursday that he still did not believe the pipeline was damaged in any way and claimed the pipeline and oil were “being used in the current geopolitical war.”
Ukraine and most of its European supporters oppose imports of Russian oil, which helps finance Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, which is in its fifth year.
But unlike the rest of the European Union, Hungary and Slovakia are still dependent on Russia for their energy needs.
For two months, the two countries accused Ukraine of not repairing the damaged pipeline.
Citing the problem, Hungary blocked a large EU loan to Ukraine, while Slovakia refused to support new sanctions against Russia until supplies resumed.
A major obstacle to approving EU funds for Ukraine has been cleared, the Slovak economy ministry said later on Thursday, when EU leaders will meet for a summit in Cyprus.
Ukraine desperately needs the 90 billion euro ($147 billion) loan package agreed in December to shore up its war-ravaged economy and help keep Russian forces at bay for the next two years.
The 27-nation EU had initially planned to use frozen Russian assets as collateral for the loan, but this option was blocked by Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held.
In December, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia decided not to block EU partners from borrowing on international markets as long as the three countries were not forced to join the programme.
However, Orban, who repeatedly blocked the EU’s aid to Ukraine, angered the other 24 countries when he later backed out of this agreement due to the pipeline dispute and the campaigns heated up before the April 12 elections, which he lost with an overwhelming majority.
The EU has also been trying to impose new sanctions against Russia since February, which Hungary and Slovakia blocked over the oil dispute.
Fico said he expects both issues to be resolved Thursday.
