Peter Szijjarto said after a cabinet meeting that the government has reviewed the situation after crude deliveries were stopped on Jan 27. "Despite promises and assurances, it has still not been restored due to a Ukrainian political decision even though every technical condition is at hand, according to our information," he said.

Szijjarto said the "political decision" had been made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally.

The "political blackmail", he said, was aimed at pushing Hungary to fulfil Kyiv's demands and strong-arm the government into "supporting the war, allowing Hungarians' money to be taken to Ukraine and to allow Ukraine into the EU."

Further, Szijjarto said Hungary was expected to give up using cheap Russian energy resources and give up the utility price caps.

He said he firmly rejected such "Ukrainian interference" and that Hungary's future would be decided exclusively by Hungarians "even if Zelensky is trying to whip up an oil supply crisis here".

Meanwhile, Szijjarto said Hungary had an important role in Ukraine's energy supply by delivering a substantial amount of electricity, gas and diesel.

"I would like to inform you that diesel fuel deliveries towards Ukraine have been stopped. It will not be restarted until Ukraine resumes crude deliveries to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline," he said.

Szijjarto called on Hungarians to "stand up against Ukrainian blackmail [by filling out] the national petition; let's say no to Hungary being dragged into the war and to higher energy prices."

The government is doing everything possible to ensure secure crude supplies and to preserve the utility price cuts, he said. For now, none of those are in danger, not even through "Ukrainian political blackmail", he said. "We have reserves sufficient for more than three months, and its use of parts of it is being decided now,"

Szijjarto also noted that he and his Slovak counterpart have notified the European Commission in a letter that the two countries were taking advantage of an earlier agreement with the EC, under which they may import Russian crude through maritime channels should pipeline deliveries become impossible.

The EU regulation on the matter was binding "for Croatia too", he said, referring to negotiations with that country on oil deliveries from port through the Adria pipeline. The delivery had already been ordered and is expected to arrive by mid-March, he added.

"I would like to highlight once again: neither Hungary's fuel nor its energy supplies are at risk, despite Ukrainian political blackmail," Szijjarto said.

Later on Wednesday, Ukrainian foreign affairs spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said on Telegram that "Hungary knows perfectly well that the Druzhba pipeline stopped because Russia has hit it."

"From the very first day, Hungary has been perfectly aware of the reasons behind the delivery outage on the pipeline. In this situation, it seems strange that the Hungarian partner has failed to issue statements clearly stating that Russia has targeted the pipeline, their favourite oil fix," he said.

Fidesz communications director Tamas Menczer said on Facebook in response that Tykhyi had compared Hungarians to "drug addicts for using Russian oil, saying we didn't want to kick the habit". He called the statement "disgusting".

"No Ukrainian has the right to insult Hungarians," he said.

"The word the Ukrainians are looking for is thank you for Hungary's largest humanitarian action in its history, launched to aid Ukraine."

He called on Tykhyi to "stop lying". "We know perfectly well that the Druzhba pipeline is in good working order, capable of deliveries, and also that deliveries were stopped because of a decision of Zelensky's. This is a political attack," he said.

"You want us to support the war and Ukraine's EU membership and to wean Hungary off cheap Russian energy. The Tisza party is assisting you in all that, but we aren't," Menczer said.
 

The Hungarian government will protect Hungarian interests including energy security and the utility price caps, he said.

Orban: "Ukraine blackmailing Hungary"

"Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary, they have stopped the flow of oil on the Druzhba pipeline, we have to free up our strategic reserves," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

This is the first point on the agenda of today's government meeting, the prime minister added.

In the video, Orban said the aim of the Ukrainian blackmail was to force Hungary to join the coalition of pro-war European countries.

"So there is huge pressure in Europe to continue the war, and Ukraine specifically wants all of us, all European countries, including Hungary, to join the war," the prime minister said.

"Today we are still struggling with this," Orban concluded his video.

Szijjarto: Hungary, Slovakia turn to EC regarding crude deliveries through Croatia

Hungary and Slovakia have turned to the European Commission to invoke a rule allowing the delivery of Russian crude via Croatia because of an interruption to flows through the Druzhba pipeline, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said.

"Hungary has sufficient reserves for more than three months, but it will also take advantage of the European Union rule allowing Hungary and Slovakia to buy seaborne Russian crude if pipeline deliveries are interrupted," Szijjarto said in a statement issued by his ministry.

He added that Hungary and Slovakia had written a joint letter to the EC to invoke the rule.

Szijjarto said Hungarian oil and gas company MOL had already ordered the first seaborne shipment of crude which was in transit. The shipment will arrive at port in Croatia early in March and reach MOL's refineries in Hungary and Slovakia 5-10 days later, he added.

Szijjarto said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had decided against restarting crude deliveries through the Druzhba "for political reasons", adding that the aim was to "assist the Tisza Party in the upcoming parliamentary election".

Szijjarto: Hungary crude supply secure

Hungary's crude supply remains secure, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said briefing a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Szijjarto noted that deliveries of Russian crude through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs across Ukraine, had ceased on January 27, his ministry said. He said that deliveries were now "technically feasible", but the Ukrainian government had taken a "political decision" not to restart them.

Hungary has strategic crude reserves sufficient for 96 days, and the country has invoked a European Union exemption allowing it to purchase seaborne Russian crude if pipeline deliveries are interrupted, he said.

Hungary's MOL has ordered a shipment of 500,000 tonnes that should arrive at port in Croatia early in March and reach its refineries in Hungary and Slovakia 5-10 days later, he added.

He noted that Hungary had imported 4.9 million tonnes of crude through the Druzhba and just 400,000 tonnes via Croatia's Adria pipeline in 2025, highlighting the Adria's role as a "supplementary" delivery route.

Szijjarto warned of possible countermeasures, pointing to the important role Hungary and Slovakia play in the supply of electricity, gas and diesel to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary proposal submitted on rejecting Ukraine's EU membership

Mate Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, and Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minsiter, submitted a resolution proposal to parliament on Tuesday, calling for the rejection of Ukraine's EU membership, war support, and the transformation of the European Union into a military alliance.

The proposal, published on the National Assembly's website, states that Hungary's neighbourhood is experiencing an armed conflict unprecedented since the second world war, which has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and directly threatens the security of both the region and Europe.

In this context, Europe's most urgent task should be to prevent escalation, promote a ceasefire, and facilitate meaningful peace negotiations. However, it argues that EU institutions and leaders continue to make decisions that increase the risk of escalation and draw Europe closer to war.

The submitters emphasise that Hungary opposes Ukraine's EU membership, as the country is at war and its accession would drag the EU into the conflict.

Ukraine also does not meet the criteria for EU membership, and thus, in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, it cannot be admitted, the resolution proposal says. The proposal calls on the government not to support the substantive launch of Ukraine’s EU accession talks or its membership.

The text declares that it is in Hungary's and Europe's interest to stay out of the war and do everything possible for peace.

Therefore, the parliament urges the government to support international peace efforts, particularly initiatives by the President of the United States, to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which severely threatens the security of Hungary and the EU; refrain from sending money or weapons to Ukraine; and take all necessary steps to prevent Hungary or the EU from being drawn into the Russia-Ukraine war.

 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com
 

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