While Hungarian PM Orbán has remained adamant that Hungary will not allow through the EU’s 20th sanctions package, nor the joint €90 billion loan, Germany’s chief diplomat says otherwise. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky says that if Orbán wants the Druzhba oil pipeline operational again, he should talk to Putin, adding a claim that Ukraine has proof Russia is behind the damage.
During an interview with RBB Inforadio, Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, expressed his opinion that Hungary will ultimately vote for Brussels’ 20th sanctions package. Wadephul reportedly believes that PM Orbán’s hesitation was more of a message on the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, writes Hirado.
The head of German diplomacy also accused Hungary of betraying its own history, recalling that the country played a key role in the collapse of the Iron Curtain in the late 1980s.
Wadephul additionally criticized Orbán, whose 2024 visit to Moscow, according to the minister, caused outrage in Europe due to the visit’s “pro-Russian nature.” “Sometimes I have the feeling that he is more interested in what benefits Vladimir Putin than what serves the interests of Europe,” he told RBB.
“We shouldn’t let this irritate us,” Wadephul said, adding that in the case of Slovakia, “the blockade is not so dramatic and less principled; the problems and issues that arise there can be resolved.”
Notably, Hungary only blocked the loan after Ukraine halted flows of oil right before a national election.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has reiterated that Hungary will not contribute to the implementation of the €90 billion loan intended for Ukraine, which had previously been approved at the political level, and would also block new anti-Russian sanctions until the transportation of crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Friendship pipeline is restored.
No oil has been flowing through the Friendship pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia since Jan. 27. According to Kyiv, the shutdown was caused by a Russian attack on the system and subsequent technical problems, but the Hungarian and Slovak leaderships state the Ukrainian side is delaying repairs for political reasons.
Kyiv has maintained that the Friendship oil pipeline was destroyed by Russia, not Ukraine, and they can claim to be able to be able to prove this with satellite images and footage from their partners, reports Mandiner. However, no such evidence has been released. Zelensky stated this is not the first time, and probably not the last, that Russia has destroyed such an infrastructure element.
“It is impossible to accept a situation in which Russia destroys something, Ukraine repairs it, and then Russia strikes again – this time killing the repair crews,” Zelensky insisted.
Notably, a wave of drone and missile strikes against key energy sites along the pipeline were widely reported as stemming from Ukraine. Pro-Ukrainian accounts across X celebrated the strikes and widely mocked Fico and Orbán in response.
According to Szijjártó, Ukraine has not provided sufficient information about the condition of the Friendship oil pipeline and is obstructing on-site inspections. He added that Hungary will continue to veto any steps that endanger the country’s energy supply. Slovakia’s foreign minister has said the same. Slovakia is calling for an investigation into the damage to the pipeline and claims that Ukraine is not allowing Slovak experts to visit the site of the attack.
Earlier this week, Orbán wrote a letter to President of the European Council António Costa, who called on the Hungarian government to no longer veto the €90 billion loan intended for Ukraine, telling him that a vote in favor of sanctions was not possible as long as Kyiv chose not to reopen the Friendship pipeline for political reasons.
