Szijjarto called the German foreign minister's remarks "unprecedented, brutally open, and shameless", warning of severe consequences if Hungary continued to block the 90 billion euro military loan for Ukraine and opposed further EU accession steps.

"The Berlin-Brussels-Kyiv axis wants regime change in Hungary, to drag Europe into war, and our sovereign government stands in their way," he said.

The minister condemned Brussels' "warlike fanaticism", adding that EU leaders did not expect peace to emerge in Ukraine this year.

He accused Ukraine of using the blockade, now in its fiftieth day, to interfere in Hungary's elections, fabricate a fuel crisis, and push petrol prices to 1,000 forints per litre, thereby aiding the opposition Tisza Party.

"This is a blatant attempt to install a Zelensky-aligned government in Hungary," he said, referring to the Ukrainian president, adding that Ukraine's claims of technical issues were false. "They lie relentlessly," he insisted.

Szijjarto said Ukraine's pipeline operator initially requested three days to resume flows, then extended this to a month, while the foreign minister later cited 42 days.

"We will not tolerate Ukrainian lies, election interference, or the blockade," he declared, reaffirming Hungary's refusal to approve the 20th sanctions package, the 90 billion euro loan, or any decision benefitting Ukraine. "We will not reward a country that is blockading us."

The minister also rejected criticism from EU colleagues who opposed cheap Russian oil and dismissed Hungarian and Slovak energy security concerns as "flimsy excuses".

Despite threats from Kyiv, Brussels, and Berlin, Szijjarto was clear: "Hungary cannot be intimidated."

Szijjarto: Brussels seeks to strip Hungary of cheap Russian oil

The European Commission is pushing to ban cheap Russian oil for Hungary on "purely ideological grounds", with a proposal planned for April 15, just three days after Hungary's parliamentary election, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Brussels on Monday.

Following a four-way meeting with his Croatian and Slovak counterparts and the EU's energy commissioner, Szijjarto said he had assumed "nothing could be worse than the threats from my German colleague," but found he had underestimated further eventualities.

"The Danish commissioner summoned us -- Croatia, Slovakia, and Hungary -- to discuss oil supply security, only to deliver an ultimatum to Hungary," he said.

Szijjarto said Brussels "does not care whether Hungary's energy supply is secure or whether families face soaring utility bills. Their sole aim is to ban cheap Russian oil from Europe on ideological grounds -- and when? On April 15, three days after our election. They dare not propose this earlier."

He vowed Hungary would not rely on a single oil pipeline or abandon its existing two, as doing so would create an "unacceptable monopoly" for Croatia. "We will fight for our energy security and to keep utility costs down. We will not let Hungarian families pay three times more for energy."

The minister noted that the EU commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, had coordinated with Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, who earlier cancelled a planned trilateral meeting with Hungary and Slovakia.

Szijjarto criticised Croatia's refusal to conduct the pipeline capacity tests requested by Hungary's oil and gas company MOL, which would have proven whether the Adria pipeline could meet Hungary and Slovakia's annual 14–15 million tonne demand.

"They refused continuous testing from port to end-user, clearly because it would expose the [Adria] pipeline's inadequacy," he said.

"Brussels cannot be trusted," Szijjarto insisted. "It sides with Ukraine and wants to deprive us of cheap Russian oil for ideological reasons. We will not allow it."

Szijjarto: Hungary, Slovakia agree to build new motor fuel pipeline

Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to build a new motor fuel pipeline connecting MOL Group's Danube Refinery in Hungary with its Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said in Brussels on Monday.

At a press conference after a meeting of his European Union peers, Szijjarto said an agreement was signed on the new pipeline with Slovak Minister of Economy Denisa Sakova.

The 127km pipeline, to be completed in H1 2027, will have a capacity for 1.5 million tonnes of petrol, diesel and other crude products, he added.

The pipeline will "reduce the potential for Ukrainian leaders to blackmail" Hungary, Szijjarto said.

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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