Ukraine, Orbán writes to von der Leyen: “Without the pipeline, we will not make any decisions in favour of Kyiv”

Brussels – Block the flow of oil to Hungary to influence the elections to be held in April in the Magyar country: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is convinced of this and has once again accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of using the energy issue for political gain and wrote today (3 March) a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “President Zelensky has given an unacceptable response” regarding the blockade of the Druzhba pipeline from Ukraine to Hungary. “For this reason, today I asked the President of the European Commission to enforce the agreements that oblige Ukraine to allow oil transit. Until Ukraine returns to normality, I am not in a position to support any decision in the European Union that favours Ukraine,” he wrote on X. 

“As confirmed by recently published satellite evidence, there is no technical or operational reason that would prevent the pipeline from reverting to normal operations immediately. The lack of willingness on the side of Ukraine to reopen the Druzhba pipeline is due to purely political reasons, with the intention to interfere in the ongoing Hungarian election campaign,” Orbán wrote to von der Leyen. The Hungarian prime minister recalled that, last week, together with Slovakia, Hungary had “attempted to find a solution through diplomatic channels,” also proposing “a fact-finding mission with the participation of Hungarian and Slovak experts to assess the status of the pipeline in Ukraine.” But “all our efforts were rejected,” Orbán said. 

Even though Ukraine’s actions violate its legal obligations towards the European Union, we have no reason to believe that legal remedies under international and EU law would yield tangible results in restoring our energy supply in the short term. Therefore, I call on the European Commission to support Hungary in neutralising the energy weapon used by Ukraine. I expect the European Commission to increase political pressure on Ukraine not to undermine the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia. I also expect the European Commission to enforce relevant provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement,” the prime minister said. “We cannot accept foreign interference in our democratic processes and will repel all such attempts. In this spirit, I wish to inform you that, until Ukraine returns to normality,
I am not in a position to support any decision in the European Union that favours Ukraine,” he concluded.