Hungary has given Ukraine three days to restore "Druzhba" oil pipeline, otherwise it will continue to block EU loans
Hungarian Energy Minister Gábor Czepek said that Kyiv has three days to resume the operation of "Druzhba" or grant access to inspectors, otherwise Budapest will block EU funding.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Index with reference to Csapek's statement.
He stated that he had sent a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, demanding that oil shipments to the country be resumed.
According to the minister, in his letter he called on Kyiv to resume oil supplies to Hungary via the pipeline within three days. Or to allow a Hungarian delegation to inspect and assess the situation on the ground if transit cannot be resumed within the specified time frame.
In particular, this involves checking the condition of the substation in Brody (Lviv region), which is an important element of the oil pipeline infrastructure.
According to the minister, if Ukraine does not comply with these demands, Hungary will use "all legal options" within the European Union.
"Until Kyiv resumes these strategic oil supplies to Hungary, we will not agree to a loan of €90 billion. In addition, Hungary will use the legal options available under the EU agreement and also has the option of initiating legal proceedings if the negotiations between the European Union and Kyiv are unsuccessful," Czepek said.
- We would like to remind you that recently, the Financial Times, citing five unnamed diplomats and EU officials, wrote that a number of European countries and the European Commission had asked Kyiv to allow a visit to the Druzhba oil pipeline. EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova appealed to the Office of the President of Ukraine with a request to grant permission to inspect "Druzhba" or send other European diplomats there, but received a refusal in response.
What is known about the state of "Druzhba"?
- On January 27, Russian occupation forces struck a critical infrastructure facility belonging to the "Naftogaz" group in western Ukraine. The target of the attack was likely Ukraine's largest oil pumping station, located in Brody, which supplies the southern branch of the "Druzhba" oil pipeline.
- The prime ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, accused Ukraine of delaying the restoration of the oil pipeline's operation for "political reasons," and on February 18, the authorities of these two countries announced the suspension of oil product exports to Ukraine in response to Ukraine's suspension of Russian oil transit.
