MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Ukraine has decided to restrict transit of oil via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia to Slovakia and Hungary due to political considerations, with settlement of the situation not depending on Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"I don’t think that we can contact Ukrainian transit companies. And the decision was probably taken not at the technical, but at the political level, with no dialogue between us existing here. This is why, indeed, the situation is rather critical for our clients, though it does not depend on us," he said when asked whether Moscow will try to unblock transit on this route or it will start searching for other supply routes.
The Slovak Economy Ministry confirmed earlier that Lukoil’s oil supplies had been suspended after the company was blacklisted by Kiev. The failure with supplies may negatively influence the work of the Bratislava refinery owned by Slovnaft, according to the Teraz portal. Roughly two thirds of oil refined at the facility originate from Russia. Russian oil is delivered to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline running through Ukrainian territory.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said earlier that a new legal situation had been formed in Ukraine, on the basis of which Lukoil was not making any deliveries to Hungary.