Hungary confirms suspension of Russian oil flow via Ukraine
The Ukrainian company providing oil transportation services, Ukrtransnafta, suspends oil deliveries to Hungary due to Russian-related sanctions.
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL confirmed to Sputnik on Tuesday that deliveries of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline were suspended a few days ago.
"Transportation of crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline has been suspended for several days, according to our information, due to the fact that there were technical issues on the part of banks in connection with the payment for transit by the Russian side," the company said.
Earlier this month, Ukrtransnafta, a Ukrainian company providing oil transportation services via Ukraine suspended the delivery of oil via the southern stream of the Druzhba pipeline.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia have also been affected by this issue.
MOL added that it has had enough oil reserves for several weeks and it has "initiated negotiations on taking obligations to pay" for the transit itself.
Hungary stands as the only country in the EU that opposed sanctions against Russia. The country imports 65% of its oil and 80% of its gas from Russia.
Last September, Hungary signed two long-term contracts with Gazprom. Via gas pipelines passing through Serbia and Austria and bypassing Ukraine, Russia will supply Hungary with a total of 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas.
This agreement is scheduled to last for 15 years, but it may be reviewed within 10 years depending on the start of its implementation.
Read more: Hungary to purchase more gas from Russia