Slovakia will continue to block sanctions against Russia: the reasons
17 April 10:15
Slovakia will block the adoption of the European Union’s 20th package of sanctions against Russia until it resumes receiving Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine. This was stated in the country’s parliament by Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“If the Druzhba pipeline does not resume operations, and a vote on the 20th sanctions package is already on the agenda, we will not vote ‘yes,'” the dpa news agency quotes Blanár as saying.
Bratislava allegedly “has no other tools to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, together with the European Commission, to reopen Druzhba.”
At the same time, Blanár stated that the Slovak government would not oppose the European Union’s allocation of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
Mátyás promised to unblock the EU loan to Kyiv
Péter Magyar,leader of the Tisza party, which won Hungary’s parliamentary elections, promised not to block the EU’s multi-billion-euro loan to Ukraine. He clarified, however, that Budapest itself does not plan to participate in the allocation of funds to Kyiv.
In early March, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened to “take over the baton” from Hungary in blocking the EU loan if the party of incumbent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lost the parliamentary elections.
Conflict over the Druzhba oil pipeline
Russian oil stopped flowing to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline at the end of January. Ukrainian authorities stated that the pipeline running through its territory had been damaged by a Russian drone strike. In mid-February, the Slovak government declared a “state of emergency in the oil sector” due to the suspension of supplies.
Hungary and Slovakia accused Kyiv of delaying repairs to the pipeline and using the damage as a pretext to halt oil shipments. Due to this dispute, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocked the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and vetoed the allocation of an EU loan to Ukraine.
In March, Kyiv agreed to accept EU assistance in repairing the oil pipeline. On April 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the Druzhba pipeline could be operational by the end of the month.
