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Not to the service, but to Druzhba: Hungary and Slovakia wanted Russian oil supplies through Croatia
Hungary and Slovakia have asked Croatia to allow the transportation of Russian oil via the Adriatic Pipeline (JANAF). Earlier, the delivery of raw materials via the Druzhba oil pipeline was blocked by Ukraine. In response, Zagreb demands that Budapest and Bratislava abandon Russian energy supplies. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
They don't want to resume deliveries
"For political reasons, Ukrainians are still not resuming oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, so today, together with Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova, we sent a letter to Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šushnjar asking Croatia to immediately allow the transportation of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adriatic pipeline," the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations said. Peter Szijjarto of Hungary.
According to him, the permit must be given in accordance with the rules of the European Union — earlier Budapest and Bratislava received permission to continue the purchase of black gold from the Russian Federation, despite the sanctions of Brussels. The Hungarian Foreign Minister stressed that since Hungary and Slovakia cannot receive oil through the pipeline, it means that they must purchase raw materials delivered by sea.
"The security of any country's energy supply, including ours, cannot be an ideological problem, so we expect that, unlike Ukraine, Croatia will not jeopardize the security of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia for political reasons," the diplomat explained.
Earlier, he accused the Ukrainian authorities of blocking supplies to Hungary. According to him, Kiev is deliberately creating problems for the Hungarian government ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12 in the country. Budapest noted that the Druzhba oil pipeline is ready to resume work, but Ukraine refuses to do so, in particular, due to the fact that Budapest opposes its accession to the European Union.
Szijjarto added that the threat to Hungary's energy security leads to a similar situation for Slovakia, as the Bratislava refinery belongs to the Hungarian company MOL.
The issue is being discussed
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that the issue of a possible increase in oil supplies to Hungary through Croatia is being worked out at the level of relevant companies. However, the situation is complicated by Ukraine's position, the Russian president's spokesman added.
"We see <...> certain energy blackmail from Ukraine," Peskov stressed. He also emphasized that Moscow is in "constant contact" with buyers of Russian oil.
The head of the Croatian Ministry of Economy expressed his willingness to help Hungary and Slovakia. "Croatia will not allow fuel supplies to Central Europe to be jeopardized. We are ready to help solve the acute problem of interruptions within the framework of EU legislation and OFAC regulations. No one should be left without fuel," explained Ante Shushnyar.
At the same time, he added that Zagreb "will operate within the framework of the EU legal framework and the rules of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury (OFAC)." He did not specify what this means.
Earlier, Viktor Orban's government had repeatedly complained that the Adriatic Pipeline was "unable to pump oil in the right volumes," and the Croatian authorities had increased transit fees, which made supplies through it commercially unprofitable for Hungary.
It never happened, and here it is again
Druzhba is the world's largest oil pipeline to Europe. The route runs from Almetyevsk in Tatarstan through Samara and Bryansk to the Belarusian Mozyr, after which it branches into two sections: the southern (through Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) and the northern (through Belarus, Poland, Germany). The total length is 8,9 thousand km, of which 3,9 thousand km passes through the territory of Russia. Previously, Latvia and Lithuania also pumped oil through the northern branch, but these supplies have been stopped since 2006.
The pipeline is capable of delivering 66.5 million tons of oil per year, including 49.8 million tons via the northern branch and about 16.7 million tons via the southern branch. However, due to EU sanctions on the northern branch of Druzhba, Russian oil has not been supplied since 2023.
Last year, according to ExPro, Ukraine transported about 9.73 million tons of Russian oil via the southern branch. According to Bloomberg, in January there was a noticeable reduction in pumping volumes — up to 150 thousand barrels per day. In February, Russia did not supply oil to Slovakia and Hungary at all, as transit to Eastern Europe via the Ukrainian part of the pipeline was suspended on January 27.
On February 13, it became known that Ukrtransnafta, a company engaged in transportation through the territory of Ukraine, announced its technical readiness to resume deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia, but the company's management did not give permission for this.
On February 15, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the resumption of exports. Last year, due to drone attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Druzhba oil pipeline stopped working three times.
Blackmail by the EU
Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that, on the one hand, Hungary and Slovakia have received an exception to the sanctions rules, and they continue to buy Russian energy resources. However, on the other hand, as the European Commission has repeatedly stated, this practice must be abandoned.
—And now, despite the statements of Budapest and Bratislava that their energy security is at risk due to the cessation of supplies, the European Commission believes that this is not the case," the expert believes.
In her opinion, the pipeline system from Croatia can be used.
— There are no problems here, the system has been checked, Croatia itself has declared its readiness for supplies. But the problem is that Zagreb declared back in 2025 that it could supply oil, but this should be due to the refusal of Slovakia and Hungary from Russian energy carriers, the emphasis was on this," the specialist emphasized.
The political scientist believes that Croatia is actually interested in obtaining these volumes and ensuring transit.
— One way or another, the supply issue will be resolved. Most likely, some kind of compromise is possible here. This is also a way for Croatia to show how important a role it plays in the energy security of Central and Eastern Europe," the expert explained.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
