Russian oil deliveries again fall below average, pipeline operator says situation ‘not extraordinary’

Russian oil deliveries to the Czech Republic through the Druzhba pipeline have again fallen below their normal level. The pipeline’s Czech operator insists, however, that similar shortfalls have occured in the past. Russian oil deliveries fell considerably in July after the Czech Republic signed a bilateral agreement with the United States, giving the green light to a US radar base on Czech soil. Moscow was firmly opposed to the agreement, but insisted that the coinciding shortfall in oil deliveries was unrelated to the treaty’s signing. After a period of returning to normal, oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline have again fallen to below average. A spokesperson for MERO, the Czech firm operating the pipeline, said that the current shortfall ‘could not be labeled as extraordinary’.