Manturov announced the technical readiness of the Druzhba pipeline for launch

The Druzhba pipeline is technically ready for launch. This was announced on March 8 by First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

"Judging by the information from [the Hungarian Foreign Minister] Peter Szijjarto has confirmed his technical readiness," he said in an interview with the Vesti news agency.

According to Manturov, the issue of reopening the pipeline rests on the political readiness of the Ukrainian side, while everything is working normally on the Russian side.

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Earlier in the day, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico allowed the destruction of the Druzhba oil pipeline by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

Zelensky said on March 5 that the restoration of the Druzhba oil pipeline is technically possible within a month and a half, but this will happen only if Europe finds ways to unlock a loan of €90 billion for Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in turn, said that the blocking of the Druzhba oil pipeline by Ukraine is an act of "state banditry", since Kiev violates international obligations on the transit of Russian oil.

In turn, the representative of the European Commission (EC), Olof Gilles, said on March 6 that EC members were exploring the possibility of allocating financial resources for Ukraine to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline. He also noted that the EC is aware of the current state of affairs with the Druzhba oil pipeline.

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