Czech Republic given 18 months to substitute Russian oil, Hungary has no limit, exceptions for other countries - media

MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - Certain exceptions to the ban on imports of oil and oil products from Russia adopted by the European Union have been made for some countries, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was quoted as saying by the Rossiya 24 television channel.

"The Czech Republic has been allotted 18 months, so that it can touch up certain points. Other countries, like Hungary, need time to reconfigure oil refineries [away from working on Russian crude]. We're not establishing concrete timeframes. There will be monitoring on the part of the European Commission in order to make sure that this doesn't take too long," De Croo said.

"Other countries, Slovakia in particular," will be able to receive oil from Russia by sea if it turns out to be impossible to receive it any other way, he said.