Czech Republic announced the termination of the purchase of Russian gas

The Czech Republic has stopped receiving Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline and started purchasing from Italian suppliers. This was reported on April 17 by the Ceske Noviny agency, citing officials.

"We have taken another step towards our energy independence," said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

According to the newspaper, the Czech Republic can now receive up to 8 million tons of oil per year from Western oil pipelines, which will fully cover the consumption of Czech refineries.

For the first time, a European country is using the increased capacity of the TAL Western oil pipeline in real operation, said Yaroslav Pantucek, CEO of the company that owns the Czech part of the Druzhba pipeline, MERO CR.

"The first increased shipments of non—Russian oil arrived from the Italian port of Trieste on Wednesday at the Central Oil Loading Terminal in Nelagozeves," Pantucek said.

Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Lukas Vlcek announced the suspension of Russian oil supplies via Druzhba on March 4. Then he noted that there was no shortage of raw materials for the needs of Czech companies and households.