Orbán and Fico did not express any gratitude to Ukraine for restoring "Druzhba," only statements that we owe them, - Zelenskyy
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have not expressed any gratitude to Ukraine for restoring the "Druzhba" oil pipeline. They have only made statements that Ukraine owes them something again.
This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in response to questions from journalists, according to Censor.NET, citing "Interfax-Ukraine".
No gratitude from Orbán and Fico
"The first strike on this oil pipeline - after the first strike, we restored everything. There was no appeal to the Russians not to strike the oil pipeline. We saw this publicly. But there were public appeals to the Ukrainians - this is the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia. When our people were restoring it, there was another combat situation, people were wounded," said the head of state.
Zelenskyy also noted that neither Orbán nor Fico had expressed any sympathy to the families of the Ukrainian victims.
"Has anyone heard Orbán or Fico say, 'We are very grateful to Ukraine, or we are very sorry for the families, relatives and loved ones who have suffered?' Not a word, except that we owe them again," the president said.
- We would like to remind you that on 27 February, it was reported that Fico had accepted the invitation of the President of Ukraine to hold joint negotiations with the Slovak side on all aspects of Ukrainian-Slovak cooperation.
- The Ukrainian side proposed specific dates for Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's visit to Ukraine – 6 or 9 March.
What preceded it?
- On January 27, Russian occupation forces launched a strike on a critical infrastructure facility of the Naftogaz Group in western Ukraine. The likely target of the attack was Ukraine's largest oil pumping station located in Brody, which ensures the operation of the southern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
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The Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, accused Ukraine of delaying the restoration of the pipeline's operation due to "political motives." On February 18, the authorities of these two countries announced the cessation of petroleum product exports to Ukraine in response to the halt of Russian oil transit through Ukraine.
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Furthermore, Fico warned that Slovakia would also review its support for Ukraine's European integration and might suspend electricity supplies.
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At the same time, Hungary received permission to import Russian oil via an alternative maritime route through Croatia, with subsequent transportation via pipeline.
