Subscribe to our social channels to get the latest news about Hungary!
Russian oil dispute in Hungary: Market struggles or internal conflicts
Change language:
Europe has been stirred by statements from the Hungarian and Slovak governments, accusing Ukraine of disrupting their supply of Russian oil through sanctions imposed on the oil company Lukoil. Despite the outcry, investigations by the European Commission and statements from various officials have confirmed that there have been no fuel shortages or price increases.
Background of the Russian oil dispute
On 16 July, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York. Following their meeting, Szijjártó publicly stated for the first time that Ukrainian sanctions were causing problems. He added that negotiations were already underway with Russia to find a solution.
By late summer, Hungarian officials, including Szijjártó, expressed confidence that they were close to resolving the issue, ensuring that Russian oil would continue to flow to Hungary and Slovakia as it had in the past. However, the situation remains politically charged. Hungary and Slovakia have criticised the European Commission for not intervening or convening talks between Brussels and Kyiv, arguing that the Commission’s conclusion that there was no problem was misguided, as we previously reported.
Conflicting accounts and unclear details
According to Válasz Online, there are significant discrepancies in the accounts of what transpired. Ukrainian authorities stated that they had informed Mol, the Hungarian oil company, and Lukoil about the planned sanctions in advance, allowing time for adjustments. Mol reportedly assured the Ukrainian state pipeline company that Lukoil’s oil would not transit through Ukraine, and Ukraine subsequently communicated that trade could continue without issue. According to Ukraine, their sanctions did not result in any reduction in oil deliveries to Mol.
However, conflicting details have emerged from industry sources. It has been reported that four oil traders, including a Swiss subsidiary linked to Lukoil, were involved in transporting oil through Ukraine to refineries in Bratislava and Hungary. Ukraine stated that the subsidiary was not subject to the sanctions, and upon investigation, the European Commission concluded that Ukraine was not restricting transit.
Some sources claimed that the Ukrainian pipeline company had misquoted Mol, suggesting that only two traders were named, not four. This included Litasco, a company linked to Lukoil, and Normeston, a Swiss subsidiary with Hungarian-Russian ties, raising questions about who was actually involved.
Uncertainty persists over how much oil was affected by the sanctions. The Ukrainian pipeline company estimated that 260,000 tonnes of oil destined for Slovakia and 105,000 tonnes for Hungary did not arrive in July due to Lukoil’s self-imposed restrictions. However, the Russian business daily *Kommersant* reported different figures, with only 94,000 tonnes less than planned delivered to Hungary and 189,000 tonnes less to Slovakia.
According to Politico, Orban was getting a price discount from Lukoil and the Ukrainians decided to end Hungary’s ability to profit from it. The supply has been the same but the Hungarian government has been in hysterics for over a month so ask yourself why they insist that they must get their oil from Lukoil. A lot of the mark-up from the discounted price was going into the pockets of the Fidesz elite and they are clearly not happy about that. Orban was profiting from his arrangement from Lukoil getting this oil through Ukraine while at the same time stabbing Ukraine in the back for the past two and a half years preventing it from getting EU assistance. The Ukrainians quite rightly finally put their foot down. Hungary really deserves to get all its’ oil cut off from Ukraine. The Ukrainians have been far too nice to Hungary on this.
https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-russia-hungary-oil-budapest-imports-europe/
Putin pays off the Fidesz government through discounted oil and gas and in return Fidesz does what the Russian government wants inside the EU and NATO. THAT IS THE ARRANGEMENT. Orban has sold Hungary to Russia. Hungary is a prostitute whoring itself to Russia.