Ukraine Accused of Manipulating Energy Transit

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Ukraine of using energy transit via its territory as leverage, according to TASS. Ukraine recently banned the transit of Lukoil resources, causing Slovakia and Hungary to stop receiving oil through the Druzhba pipeline. Oil transit has yet to resume.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday accused Ukraine of using the issue of energy transit via its territory as a 'manipulation button', the TASS state news agency reported. Slovakia and Hungary said earlier this month that they had stopped receiving oil from Russia's Lukoil through the Druzhba pipeline after Ukraine imposed a ban last month on the transit of resources from Lukoil via Ukrainian territory.

A senior Russian oil industry source said on Tuesday that oil transit had not resumed.

(With inputs from agencies.)