Trump Wants Hungary and Slovakia to Stop Using Russian Oil. Can They?

Budapest and Bratislava warn ending Russian Druzhba oil would cripple their economies, as Brussels and Washington push Croatia’s Adria as an alternative.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the White House, on May 13, 2019. Manuel Balce Ceneta /AP Photo

U.S. President Donald Trump is turning up the pressure on Europe to curb Russian oil imports, singling out Hungary and Slovakia for their reliance on Moscow.

But the landlocked nations of Central and Eastern Europe are digging their heels in, determined to keep cheap crude flowing through the Druzhba pipeline, a 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile) artery carrying Russian oil into the heart of Europe.