“Two shocking details from the meeting of EU foreign ministers: 1. They want Hungarian and Slovak soldiers to go to war in Ukraine. 2. The European Commission has really allied with Ukraine to block oil supplies,” wrote the head of Hungarian diplomacy.
In an earlier post on X, the politician noted that “Hungary and Slovakia are members of the European Union, and Ukraine is not.” “Despite this, Brussels is siding with Ukraine against its own member states,” he added.
The Druzhba oil pipeline, the main route transporting Russian crude oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia, has been closed since the end of Januarywhen – as reported by the Ukrainian side – it was damaged as a result of Russian attacks. The operator of the Ukrainian oil pipeline system, Ukrtransnafta, said on Friday that the oil pipeline was seriously damaged and was being repaired.
Hungary and Slovakia say Ukraine is acting intentionally
The authorities in Budapest and Bratislava maintain that Ukraine is deliberately delaying the restoration of gas transport. According to the head of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kiev's “political blackmail” is aimed at putting pressure on Hungary to meet demands regarding “support for the war, enabling the export of Hungarians' money to Ukraine and admitting Ukraine to the EU.”
“There are no technical or operational reasons that would prevent the resumption of crude oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline. Therefore, it is obvious that Ukraine's decision is purely political in nature, an attempt to put pressure on Hungary in cooperation with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition. We will not succumb to blackmail,” Szijjarto wrote on Monday on social media.
The minister announced on Sunday that Budapest will block the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia until the transport of Russian oil resumes. This package was to be adopted on Tuesday, on the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Szijjarto noted that Hungary would also block the EUR 90 billion EU loan for Ukraine until it resumes the transit of raw materials.
European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said on Monday that failure to honor Hungary's commitments on an EU loan to Ukraine would constitute a clear breach of the principle of sincere cooperation.
In response to the interruption of supplies, Hungary and Slovakia released their strategic oil reserves, stopped the supply of diesel fuel to Ukraine, and threatened to suspend the transmission of electricity and, in the case of Hungary, gas.
