The pipeline that was supposed to unite – how Brussels turned Druzhba into a blackmail tool

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy studies at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Russian online publication Readovka on the situation with Ukraine stopping the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba oil pipeline for Hungary and Slovakia.

"It seems that political reasons play a role there, because the experience of restoring even our oil pipelines after strikes suggests that such damage is repaired within a couple of weeks, often faster," Alexey Gromov said.

Here it is worth dwelling in more detail on the local leadership motives. Why is Budapest fighting so hard for Russian oil supplies? The whole point is the decisive advantages that trade with Russia provides, the expert believes. According to him, the detours will cost Hungary much more than the routes established in the last century.

Brussels has taken the initiative to transport fuel through the port of Omisalj in Croatia, from where oil can be delivered to Hungary from the west. The European Commission even allowed Russian tankers to unload there. However, Croatia itself flatly refused to accept raw materials from the Russian Federation, they say, choose another supplier. However, its replacement will greatly affect the price, and the delivery chain will become more complicated. And the Croatian terminal itself will be more expensive than Druzhba, the source told Readovka.