By Anita Komuves and Jason Hovet BUDAPEST, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Hungary and Slovakia agreed on Friday to set up a joint committee to investigate damage to the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine, calling on
By Anita Komuves and Jason Hovet
BUDAPEST, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has a "clear impression" after a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Kyiv does not want to restore the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, he said on Friday.
Supplies via Druzhba to Hungary and Slovakia - the only European Union countries still importing Russian oil - stopped on January 27 after what Kyiv says was a Russian attack on pumping stations in western Ukraine.
Kyiv says the repairs are taking time but Hungary and Slovakia are furious, accusing Ukraine of dragging its feet.
ZELENSKIY REJECTS SLOVAK AND HUNGARIAN INSPECTION PLAN
Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban agreed on Friday to set up a committee to investigate the damage, and requested access - but Fico said Zelenskiy had refused, citing the advice of intelligence services.
"I gained a clear impression that the Ukrainian side has no interest in resuming the transit," Fico said in a statement.
Zelenskiy said only that he had invited Fico to Ukraine to discuss "all existing issues".
Fico replied that he preferred to meet in an EU member state, and said he had intelligence that there was no obstacle to reopening the pipeline, whose closure was causing logistical and economic damage.
Ukraine's foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the inspection proposal.
Orban accused Kyiv on Facebook of stopping the oil for political reasons.
Hungary and Slovakia both maintain ties with Moscow despite criticism from EU partners, oppose military aid for Ukraine, and are challenging EU efforts to end energy imports from Russia by the end of 2027.
HUNGARY AND SLOVAKIA USE STRATEGIC OIL RESERVES
Both have tapped strategic reserves for their refineries to fill the gap until alternative sources come, and Hungary's MOL, which also operates Slovakia's Slovnaft refinery, has ordered Saudi, Norwegian, Kazakh, Libyan and Russian oil.
Longer-term, Hungary sees Serbia as a more reliable transit route.
"We gain protection for ourselves for the coming years against Ukrainian-style blackmail," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said while in Belgrade to announce the building of a new pipeline to transport semi-finished oil products - separate from a crude pipeline already in the works.
The European Commission said it was in contact with Kyiv and working with member states to ensure security of supply.
Fico has threatened further countermeasures after suspending an emergency electricity backup facility for Ukraine.
Orban, meanwhile, is maintaining a veto on new EU sanctions on Russia and a huge loan for Ukraine. Reducing support for Kyiv has become a theme of his campaign for an April 12 election.
Reuters has reported that Brussels will submit a proposal for a permanent ban on Russian oil imports on April 15.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves in Budapest, Jason Hovet in Prague, Max Hunder in Kyiv and Kate Abnett in Brussels; Editing by Mark Potter and Alison Williams)
