Kremlin: Interruptions in Russian oil transit via Ukraine a ‘crisis’ for buyers

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday called interruptions in Russian oil transit via Ukraine a “crisis” for the affected oil buyers, but said there was little scope for talks with the Ukrainian transit firms because the decision had been political.

Slovakia and Hungary have said they stopped receiving oil from a key supplier, Russian company Lukoil, after Ukraine last month banned the transit of resources from the Russian energy company via its territory.

Russia continues to supply natural gas and oil to Europe via Ukraine despite the war in Ukraine, something Moscow calls a special military operation.

Hungary’s energy company MOL owns refineries in landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, both of which are fed by the Druzhba pipeline’s southern spur.

“I don’t think that we have the opportunity to enter into contact with Ukrainian companies that provide transit. Such a decision was made not at a technical, but at a political level,” Peskov told a daily conference call with reporters.

“We have no dialogue here. Therefore, indeed, the situation is quite a crisis for our (oil) recipients, but it does not depend on us,” he added.

The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline runs via Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and has been the primary source of supply for their refineries for years. Rosneft, Lukoil and Tatneft have been the main Russian exporters via the route.

Two sources familiar with the relevant data told Reuters on Thursday that Russia’s Urals crude supplies via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia had been sharply lower than their scheduled volumes.

They said that oil supplies via the pipeline to the Czech Republic continue as normal, while flows to Hungary are slightly below planned levels.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn)