Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "stop threatening Hungary" after he suggested that the attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline were directly related to Hungary's position on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
Points of attention
- Foreign Minister Szijjártó accuses Zelenskyy of endangering Hungary's energy security through threats related to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
- The Hungarian government condemns what they perceive as attacks on their sovereignty through implications from the Ukrainian President.
- Tensions escalate as Zelenskyy hints at a connection between Hungary's stance on Ukraine's EU accession and attacks on the oil pipeline.
Szijjártó attacked Zelenskyy: what happened?
The minister stated that Zelensky allegedly "used Ukraine's national holiday to crudely threaten Hungary."
He accused Ukraine of "serious attacks" on Hungary's energy security, and said that "attacks on energy security should be interpreted as attacks on sovereignty."
A war we have nothing to do with is not a legitimate explanation for the violation of our sovereignty. We call on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop his threats to Hungary and stop jeopardizing our energy security.
Peter Szijjarto
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary
On August 24, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hinted that the attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline were directly related to Hungary's position on Ukraine's accession to the EU.
On August 21, President Zelenskyy said that he had appealed to his American counterpart Donald Trump with a request to influence Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban not to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
On August 22, Hungary received a report that the Druzhba oil pipeline on the Russian-Belarusian border had been "attacked for the third time in a short period of time."
