(Reuters) – Slovakia will not be a “hostage” to Ukraine-Russia relations, its Prime Minister Robert Fico told his Ukrainian counterpart in a call on Saturday, after Kyiv placed Russian group Lukoil on a sanctions list, leading to a halt in deliveries.
Slovakia and Hungary said this week they had stopped receiving oil from key supplier Lukoil after Ukraine imposed a ban last month on the transit of resources from the Russian energy company via its territory.
For Slovakia, that meant a loss in some supplies for its Slovnaft refinery, which is owned by Hungarian oil and gas group MOL.
Slovakia’s government office said on Saturday that Fico spoke by telephone with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and told him Slovakia did not intend “to be a hostage of Ukrainian-Russian relations”.
Slovnaft will receive 40% less oil for processing than needed, the government said, which will hit Slovak markets and could also lead to a stop of diesel supplies from Slovnaft destined for Ukraine.
“The inclusion of Lukoil on the sanctions list is just another example of senseless sanctions that do not hurt the Russian Federation but mainly some (European Union) member state, which is unacceptable,” Fico’s office said.
Fico has been a long-time critic of sanctions against Russia and, after taking office for a fourth time last year, halted direct state military aid to Ukraine, raising criticism for veering foreign policy too close to Moscow.
While the EU has imposed sanctions on Russian crude already, some countries like Slovakia have exemptions to have more time to transition to alternative sources.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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