Hungary announces oil pipeline deal amid feud with Ukraine

Kiev is “trying to make fools of us,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has claimed

Hungary is set to sign a deal with neighboring Slovakia on building a new bilateral oil pipeline, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has announced. Budapest and Bratislava have been caught in an escalating feud with Ukraine and the EU over Russian oil deliveries being blocked by Kiev.

The row centers around the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which was shut down by Ukraine in late January. Kiev claimed the halt was due to damage from a Russian drone strike.

Moscow has denied targeting it, while Slovakia and Hungary have rejected Kiev’s account and insist it is part of a Ukrainian blackmail campaign.

Szijjarto made the remarks on Monday as he filmed a short video address during a break at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. In a clip, he lashed out at his EU colleagues – particularly from Germany – over what he described as “open, brutal and shameless threats.” 

The German foreign minister, he said, “basically expected us to… tolerate the oil blockade, to immediately hand over all available money to Ukraine, and to immediately accept the sanctions [on Russia] – because if we do not, there will be very serious consequences.”

Szijjarto dismissed the ultimatum as unacceptable, saying that “now I will sign an agreement with the Slovaks about building a new fuel pipeline between the two countries.” He said the details of the landmark agreement would be announced at a press conference later.

READ MORE: Zelensky seeking to ‘punish’ Slovakia for peace aspirations – Fico

Prior to the session, Szijjarto also blasted Kiev, saying “Ukrainians are basically trying to make fools of us.” He pointed to Ukrainian claims that pipeline repairs would “presumably take one month” – a deadline falling after Hungary’s parliamentary elections. Szijjarto added that a Hungarian delegation had spent several days in the Ukrainian capital trying – unsuccessfully – to arrange talks with Ukrainian officials.

As long as the Ukrainians are playing games with us… there can be no question of voting in favor of the €90 billion military loan, or approving any other financial assistance to Ukraine, or the 20th sanctions package. And EU membership for Ukraine can be forgotten anyway.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky did not hide his reluctance to reopen the pipeline. “I am being forced to restart Druzhba. How is that any different from lifting sanctions on the Russians? If weapons deliveries were made conditional on reopening the pipeline, I’m afraid, I’m powerless on this issue,” he said.