Slovnaft confirmed that Lukoil, not Ukraine had stopped oil supplies. The Russian company should have done it because of sanctions

Problems with oil supplies from the Russian company Lukoil continue. The Russian supplier, which has been placed on Ukraine's sanctions list, has stopped deliveries via Ukraine for "force majeure" reasons.

Slovnaft, which has a long-term contract with Lukoil, has not received any oil deliveries from this supplier since the beginning of July.

On Wednesday (7 August), Slovnaft spokesman Anton Molnár informed about it.

Breach of the agreement with the Union?

"Slovnaft has been making every effort since then to secure alternative oil supplies in this critical period for Slovakia and the region. As this is a short-term solution, Slovnaft and the MOL Group are working in parallel with representatives of the states to resolve the issue so that long-term guarantees for oil transport are given," Molnár said without further details.

The suspension of oil supplies from Lukoil was confirmed by the Slovak Economy Ministry in mid-July. Several representatives of the ruling coalition have described the restriction of oil supplies via Ukraine as a violation of the association agreement with the European Union (EU).

However, the European Commission has told Slovakia and Hungary that an energy crisis is not imminent and there are alternative supply options via the Adria pipeline. Moreover, other Russian companies are supplying oil through the Druzhba pipeline without restrictions.

Can oil flow through the pipeline from the Baltics? More in the interview with analyst Radovan Potocar:

Even the experts don't see it rosy

The Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SOPK) described the suspension of part of the Russian oil supplies as bad news for Slovak entrepreneurs.

"It is bad because it may bring an increase in the prices of diesel and petrol, and thus further reduce the competitiveness of our producers and service providers," Július Kostolný, chairman of the SOPK Foreign Trade Committee, said on Tuesday (6 August) on the social network.

According to Kostolný, the EU Commission's recommendations to start importing oil via Croatia's Adria, where the price of the commodity and especially the transport fees make the price of the commodity significantly more expensive, show that trade policy is not managed by good landlords in Brussels.

"Once again it is confirmed that chaos reigns in the EU's common trade policy and each member state defends its interests in its own way," Kostolný added.