Ukraine banned Lukoil products from crossing its border last summer, raising concerns in Hungary and Slovakia, both of which receive Russian oil via a pipeline through Ukraine.

MOL said in a statement that it will “take ownership of the relevant quantities of crude oil on the Belarus-Ukraine border” starting Monday.

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs praised the temporary solution. “We welcome MOL’s solution. It is a technological solution,” he said.

The proposal was initially unveiled by Gergely Gulyás, an official in the private office of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who said last month that Budapest was pushing for the swap.

“As soon as we can sign the contracts with Ukraine, they will come into effect,” he said, adding that it would cost an additional $1.50 per barrel to secure transit outside of previous agreements.

While Hungary initially claimed that the Lukoil cuts would cause a fuel crisis at home, the EU repeatedly refused to intervene, saying oil flows remained at previous levels. Meanwhile, EU countries expressed frustration that Budapest was effectively making money from Russian energy while the rest of the continent was forced to divest itself of energy.

Hungary is allowed to import Russian oil under a sanctions exemption it received two years ago. The exemption was intended to be temporary, but Hungary has increased oil imports via the Ukrainian pipeline by 50 percent since 2021. MOL has also seen profits soar to record highs. Budapest, which is struggling with an economic crisis, has benefited from the hefty taxes the company pays.

Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia also appear to be pushing for a similar deal, which would allow them to continue importing Russian gas via Ukraine when the transit contract expires at the end of this year.