Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Budapest will not support any decision of the European Union in favor of Ukraine until Kyiv resumes oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. This includes Hungary's unblocking of a 90 billion euro loan.
Points of attention
- Viktor Orban maintains that Hungary will not back any EU resolutions supporting Ukraine until oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline is resumed.
- Hungary's position centers on the necessity of oil supply for its survival, emphasizing that the issue is of existential importance for the nation.
Orban attacks Ukraine again over Russian oil
He told reporters about this before the EU Council meeting in Brussels on March 19.
Answering the question of whether the Hungarian authorities would support granting Kyiv a loan from the European bloc in the amount of 90 billion euros, Orban said that everything depends on the Ukrainians' decision to resume oil supplies.
Hungary's position is very simple. We are waiting for oil, and everything else is just a fairy tale... We are ready to support Ukraine when we get our oil, which they blocked. Until then, no decision that is favorable to Ukraine will receive support from Hungary.
Viktor Orban
Prime Minister of Hungary
He noted that Hungarians need oil "for survival," noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "must understand that this is not a game." If Kyiv resumes transit, then, as Orban promised, "there will be a new chapter" in relations between the two states.
Without this oil, all households in Hungary and companies will go bankrupt. So you understand that this is not a joke. This is not a political game. Zelensky must understand that this is not a game. This is an absolutely existential issue for Hungarians... Until then, we cannot support any pro-Ukrainian proposal.
