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Hungarian minister says terrorist attack on Druzhba pipeline menace to country's safety

Peter Szijjarto shares the view of his Bulgarian colleague that energy security is part of national security

BUDAPEST, May 11. /TASS/. Hungary considers the terrorist attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Europe, a menace to the country's energy security, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told a press conference on Thursday following talks with Bulgarian Energy Minister Rossen Hristov in Budapest.

"In Europe, particularly in Central Europe, there are countries that purchase oil from Russia, which is why it is obvious that the suggested attack on the pipeline running from Russia to Europe targets our security, whereas our energy security is an issue of our sovereignty," he said when commenting on reports of a terrorist attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline.

The Hungarian minister shares the view of his Bulgarian colleague that energy security is part of national security. The press conference was broadcast on the Facebook (prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist) page of the Hungarian minister.

Hungary continues receiving most oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which runs from Russia through Ukraine. Russia’s government said earlier that 4.9 mln tons of oil were supplied via the pipeline’s southern line in 2022. Crude oil is also delivered from there to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The northern line of Druzhba running towards Poland and Germany is not used by those countries now.

On Wednesday, there was an attempted terrorist attack against the Druzhba oil pipeline system at the Bryansk terminal. No one was hurt as Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin told TASS. The competent authorities are investigating the circumstances of the incident.

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