First Vice Chairman of the State Duma Energy Committee Pavel Zavalny doubted the reliability of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's words about the Druzhba oil pipeline incident.
In a conversation with Lenta.ru, the deputy minister noted that in this matter he trusts experts from Hungary and Slovakia.
“According to the information, as I understand it, from their special agencies that are collecting information, the oil pipeline is in good condition. And the fact that the oil is not being transported is for political reasons,” Zavalny noted.
Previously, Zelensky, commenting on Russia's suspension of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, said that repairing the Druzhba oil pipeline would not be quick.
In contrast, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó argued that the resumption and timing of oil transit through Druzhba depended solely on Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also announced that Druzhba was active and that the Ukrainian side did not allow the Slovak ambassador to visit the area where the infrastructure was said to have been damaged.
As the Hungarian company MOL reported, oil from Russia has not been supplied to Hungary via Druzhba since January 27. In February, the Slovak Ministry of Economy confirmed the suspension of oil pumping through the southern branch of the oil pipeline.
