Cheap Russian oil keeps Hungary and Slovakia blocking Ukraine’s EU and NATO path — expert

Serhiy Kuyun, head of the A-95 consulting group, said this in a comment to Espreso TV.

“There is every reason to believe that Hungary and Slovakia have the full capacity to supply their refineries with non-Russian oil. In particular, they have the Adria pipeline, which transports oil from the Adriatic Sea — effectively the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is a huge hub, with Azerbaijani, Iranian, Saudi, and U.S. oil, among others. There is plenty of oil there, and it is not difficult to buy. However, they are clearly profiting from the Kremlin’s discount on Russian oil, so for them, it is definitely more profitable to refine Russian oil.”

According to the expert, this discount is Russia’s payment to these countries for blocking Ukraine’s progress toward NATO and the EU.

“If reports are true that they receive around a 20% discount on oil in exchange for blocking Ukraine’s advancement into NATO and the EU, then that adds up to roughly €1 billion a year. For such small countries, this is huge money. And this billion comes on top of the profit margin they would normally make by refining oil purchased at market prices. 

So this is an extremely lucrative business for them — not just a source of income for the countries, but the very foundation of Orbán’s regime. Gasoline prices in Hungary are the lowest in Europe,” Kuyun noted.