The Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó criticized the agreement between Ukraine and the European Union regarding the access of European experts for the inspection of the Druzhba pipeline. He insists that Ukraine must “immediately lift the oil blockade against Hungary,” accusing Kyiv of creating artificial barriers to energy supplies.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Hungary’s Position and Reaction to the EU’s Decision
Szijjártó emphasized in his address that, according to him, Hungary and Slovakia have been under an oil blockade from Ukraine for almost 50 days. He expressed doubt about the European Commission’s promises to resolve the situation and noted that all steps had been previously coordinated between Kyiv and Brussels. The Hungarian minister called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to stop the “political theater” surrounding this issue.
“After almost 50 days, the European Commission noted that two member states (Szijjártó refers to his country and Slovakia – ed.) are under an oil blockade from Ukraine, and now promises to resolve the situation. Do not deceive yourselves. This is a political game. Every step was coordinated between Kyiv and Brussels. Let’s not pretend that (European Commission President) Ursula von der Leyen is solving a problem she was previously unaware of. We urge (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelensky and Ursula von der Leyen to stop this political theater,” Szijjártó wrote on behalf of his country’s authorities on social media platform X.
Inspection of Druzhba and Discussion of European Financial Aid
Earlier, on March 17, during a briefing at the European Commission, there was hope for quick progress on unblocking a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which could happen before the summit of EU member state leaders scheduled for March 19–20.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky informed the heads of the European Commission and the EU Council about Ukraine’s agreement to allow European experts to inspect the Druzhba pipeline after damage caused by attacks from the Russian Federation. Ukraine also accepted the EU’s proposal for technical assistance to restore infrastructure.
According to the head of state, repair work is nearing completion, and full restoration of the pipeline’s operation will take about another month and a half.
EU officials informally noted that the selection of an expert from the European Union, who will go to Ukraine to assess the condition of the pipeline, is currently underway. To avoid potential bias, this expert will not represent Hungary or Slovakia.
Earlier, EU diplomats indicated that unblocking the €90 billion loan for Ukraine, which is currently being blocked by Hungary, would depend on the restoration of the Druzhba’s operation or at least the access of European experts to inspect the pipeline’s condition.