BUDAPEST, Aug 23 (NNN-XINHUA) — Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, together with Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, has sent a joint letter to senior European Union (EU) officials, urging the European Commission to take immediate action following an attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline at the Russian-Belarusian border.
“This vital pipeline has been attacked for the third time, and now oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia will stop for at least five days,” Szijjarto wrote.
Crude oil deliveries to Hungary were suspended again following the overnight strike on the Druzhba pipeline, Szijjarto confirmed Friday morning.
Despite the disruption, Hungarian oil and gas group MOL assured that regional supply security will be maintained, citing reserves and access to an alternative route via the Adriatic pipeline from Croatia.
In a Facebook post earlier in the day, Szijjarto denounced the incident as “a direct assault on the country’s energy security” and “an attempt to drag Hungary into the war,” adding that Hungary would continue to support peace efforts with all its strength while safeguarding its national interests.
The Druzhba pipeline was previously forced offline by Ukrainian strikes on Aug 13 and Aug 18. Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian refineries and oil infrastructure this year, pushing wholesale gasoline prices inside Russia to record highs.
The EU banned most Russian oil imports after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but exempted the Druzhba pipeline. — NNN-XINHUA
