The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Hungarian chargé d’affaires following comments made by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, which the ministry claims misrepresented the content of their recent meeting.
Georgiy Tikhiy, a spokesperson for the ministry, stated that Szijjártó’s remarks distorted the discussions held with the Hungarian diplomat. The meeting, which took place a few hours after the initial encounter, aimed to clarify the inaccuracies and hoped to ensure that the true context would reach Budapest.
Tikhiy emphasized that during the discussions, there were no indications from the Ukrainian side suggesting that the resumption of oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary was politically obstructed.
He explained that the talks focused on statements made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán regarding potential threats to Hungary’s critical energy infrastructure. Ukraine expressed its readiness to assist Hungary in protecting its facilities and proposed operational channels for information sharing and coordination between the relevant authorities of both nations, contingent on the factual basis of Orbán’s claims.
Earlier, on February 26, Szijjártó had claimed that Ukraine had summoned the Hungarian chargé d’affaires in Kyiv, acknowledging that Ukraine was keeping the Druzhba pipeline closed for political reasons.
In a related development, on January 27, a Russian attack in Brody, Lviv region, damaged an infrastructure facility linked to the Druzhba pipeline, causing a fire and halting operations. The pipeline remains operational for transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha noted that the supply of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline was halted due to the attack. He criticized Hungary for not expressing any protest to Russia regarding the incident, highlighting perceived double standards.
Both Hungary and Slovakia have announced a suspension of diesel exports to Ukraine until Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline are restored.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that they had informed Budapest about the attack on the Druzhba pipeline and the resulting damages on January 27, asserting that accusations of delays in supplies were illogical.
The European Commission has indicated a desire for Ukraine to resume operations of the Druzhba pipeline but acknowledged that the decision rests with Ukraine due to the risk of further Russian attacks.
On February 21, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that Slovakia would halt electricity supplies to Ukraine on February 23 if oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline was not resumed. A similar statement was issued by the Hungarian government.
Ukraine has proposed that the European Union consider using the Odesa-Brody pipeline as an alternative for oil supplies to the EU, given the damage to the Druzhba pipeline.
On February 23, Fico confirmed that Slovakia had stopped electricity supplies to Ukraine due to the suspension of oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, although Ukraine’s energy company, Ukrenergo, stated that the potential cessation of emergency electricity supplies would not significantly impact the situation in Ukraine’s unified energy system.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned a Hungarian diplomat after claims by Hungary's foreign minister misrepresented discussions regarding oil supply issues. The situation highlights ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Hungary amid recent attacks affecting energy infrastructure.