Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over his statements about the uncoordinated arrival of Hungarian officials. The Hungarian diplomat claims that official Budapest had informed the Ukrainian side in advance about the visit of specialists to inspect the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline. Szijjártó wrote about this on his Facebook page, UNN reports.
Details
According to Szijjártó, the Hungarian delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Energy Gábor Czepek, arrived in Ukraine with the specific purpose of auditing the oil infrastructure. The Hungarian side assures that an official notification was sent to their Ukrainian counterparts a day before the visit, including a request for a meeting with the Minister of Energy of Ukraine.
Szijjártó emphasized that claims of a lack of coordination do not correspond to reality and distort the actual state of communication between the agencies.
Zelenskyy claims that he did not know about the arrival of the Hungarian delegation in Ukraine, as the Hungarian government did not coordinate the visit with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. But what is the reality? Yesterday, we officially informed the Ukrainians that a Hungarian delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Energy Gábor Czepek, would visit Ukraine to inspect the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline, and also requested a meeting with the Minister of Energy of Ukraine
Accusations of oil blockade
The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry linked the situation to the restriction of Russian oil supplies through Ukraine, which poses a threat to Hungary's energy security.
He noted that due to the instability of sea transportation, the oil pipeline remains a critically important route for the country. Szijjártó once again emphasized that Kyiv's actions to stop transit have political motives and directly harm Hungarian interests during a difficult period for the global market.
Therefore, the Ukrainian oil blockade is nothing less than a grave crime against Hungary