Magyar called on Zelenskyy to reopen Druzhba oil pipeline: I wouldn’t advise blackmailing Hungary

The leader of the "Tisza" party, which won Hungary's parliamentary elections, Péter Magyar, called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resume operations on the "Druzhba" oil pipeline as soon as possible, stressing that he would not yield to "blackmail" from Kyiv.

He said this at a press conference, according to Telex, as reported by Censor.NET.

An Appeal to Zelenskyy

Magyar told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the issue of the oil pipeline "is no game," and urged the Ukrainian side to reopen it if possible.

He also added that this could happen in the coming days, but stressed that, although he has not yet met Zelenskyy, he will not give in to blackmail.

"We will not make any concessions, and I would not advise—I repeat—we do not know each other, but I would not advise the Ukrainian president to go down this path. This will not be accepted not only in Hungary, but also in Europe; European leaders will not accept that he wants to renegotiate things that have already been agreed upon and blackmail European leaders. It’s as if I were invited to dinner, I agreed, and then started blackmailing: if there’s no lecho, or if it’s not cooked over medium heat, then I’ll do this and that. In my opinion, this is the wrong attitude, and I would not advise doing so," said Magyar.

As a reminder, the President of Ukraine previously stated that the "Druzhba" pipeline would be restored by the end of April, "not fully, but enough to keep it operational."

What's happening with "Druzhba"?

On January 7, a piece of infrastructure was damaged in Brody, Lviv region, as a result of a Russian attack. Naftogaz reported that the Russian military had attacked a critical infrastructure facility in western Ukraine. A fire broke out, and operations at the facility were halted.
According to the publication Enkorr, the facility in question is located in the city of Brody in the Lviv region and is connected to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
On February 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline had been suspended since January 27 due to a Russian attack. He also said that Budapest was preparing to lodge a complaint regarding transit issues.
The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have announced a suspension of diesel fuel exports to Ukraine until Russian oil supplies resume via the Druzhba pipeline.
On March 11, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a group of Hungarian citizens had entered Ukrainian territory without official status or scheduled official meetings.
President Zelenskyy stated that he is unaware of what the Hungarian delegation is doing in Ukraine.
Subsequently, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Zelenskyy of lying and published a Hungarian diplomatic note indicating that Budapest had requested a meeting between Cepec and Ukrainian Minister Denys Shmyhal.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry's note indicates that the Hungarian side did not coordinate its delegation's visit to the Druzhba oil pipeline with Ukraine and received proposals from Kyiv regarding alternative dates for the visit.