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Bratislava – Slovakia and Hungary jointly appeal for immediate action to be taken at the European Commission (EC) level to stop Russian oil supplies. This was stated by Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanár (Smer-SD) after Monday’s meeting with the Hungarian ambassador to Slovakia, Csaba Balogh.
“Last week, the Hungarian foreign minister and I submitted a request to the EC to investigate whether the Ukrainian side is violating the Association Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine in terms of energy resources transit, as the stoppage of oil supplies is contrary to its provisions,” informed the head of Slovak diplomacy. He recalled that the expansion of Ukraine’s sanctions against Lukoil blocked the transit of oil from this company from the Russian Federation, thus preventing Slovakia and Hungary from exercising the EU sanctions exemption.
According to the minister, the EC has requested additional information on this matter. “The Commission is postponing the issue, but the residents of Slovakia and Hungary cannot wait until there is a shortage of oil, and thus fuel. By then, it will already be too late,” he declared.
According to Blanár, Slovakia has a sovereign view on foreign policy, which includes the war conflict in Ukraine. “From the beginning, we have been saying that satisfactory results can only be achieved through peaceful diplomatic solutions. Therefore, I expressed support and gratitude for the information we received about the visit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whether in Kiev, Moscow, or even Beijing,” he said.
He reiterated that Slovakia will not in any way boycott Hungary’s presidency in the EU Council. No EU state as a sovereign country needs to seek permission for bilateral meetings, according to him: “Hungary has its sovereign opinion and we consider any boycott to be nonsensical. We need to sit at the negotiating table and communicate openly.” (July 29)