MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia was technically ready to resume oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia if and when Ukraine ended what Moscow called its "blackmail".

Hungary's outgoing government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Slovakia have been in dispute with Ukraine over the suspension of Russian oil supplies over Ukrainian territory through the Soviet-era pipeline.

Kyiv says the pipeline was shut due to a Russian attack in late January. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview broadcast on Monday that it would be put back into operation by the end of April.

"As things stand, you are aware that the Russian side remains technically ready. We have contractual obligations with Hungary. But following the start of the Kyiv regime’s blackmail, deliveries have been halted," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Everything depends on the Kyiv regime – whether they will open the pipeline and put an end to the blackmail," he said.