TASS news agency quoted Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto as saying that Moscow and Budapest are trying to reconnect Russian oil supplies to Hungary after the transit through Ukraine was blocked.
In June, Kiev increased sanctions against Russian oil company Lukoil by banning it from using Ukraine as a transit country for energy.
Lukoil won a five-year contract to export about 4 million tonnes of oil per year to Hungarian energy company Mol in 2019.
Russia and Hungary are studying effective solutions to the problem of oil transportation - Foreign Minister Szijjarto told reporters on the sidelines of a United Nations conference in New York right after meeting with Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto said: "We have discussed the issue of safe gas and oil supply to Hungary from Russia. Regarding oil supply, a new legal situation has now arisen in Ukraine, forcing Lukoil to temporarily suspend supplies to Hungary.
Kiev imposed sanctions on Lukoil in 2018, banning the company from divesting capital for business operations in Ukraine, as well as banning commercial activities and participating in the Privatization or lease of state assets.
The energy company supplied Russian crude to Hungary via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline running through Ukraine. Kiev's latest move has prevented Lukoil from supplying oil to the EU country.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto added that Moscow and Budapest are studying a legal solution to allow the two countries to resume oil deliveries, stressing that Russian crude oil is important for Hungary's energy security.
We have also discussed gas supply, which is very suitable for Hungary. Gas supplied through pipelines The Turkish flow is a reliable source of energy for us, said the top Hungarian diplomat.
The EU banned member states from importing Russian crude oil on December 5, 2022, as part of a sixth package of sanctions related to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. However, pipeline supply is exempted from sanctions. Therefore, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic continue to import oil from Russia.
In June 2023, the EU adopted its 11th package of sanctions, which would ban oil transit from Russia along the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline to Germany and Poland. Oil supplies along the southern Druzhba branch to Hungary will not be sanctioned.
