Orban and Fico agree on an "investigative commission" regarding "Druzhba" and demand access from Zelenskyy
Kyiv • UNN
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico have agreed to establish an investigative commission regarding the Druzhba oil pipeline. Orbán called on President Zelenskyy to grant access to it.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that he had agreed with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to establish an investigative commission regarding the "Druzhba" oil pipeline and called on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow it access, as he wrote on social media, UNN reports.
I agreed with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to establish a Hungarian-Slovak investigative commission to ascertain the condition of the "Druzhba" oil pipeline. I call on President Zelenskyy to allow access to Hungarian and Slovak inspectors and to immediately restore the operation of the "Druzhba" oil pipeline.
Addition
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as Politico writes, suggested that he might lift his veto on the EU sending Ukraine 90 billion euros if the EU assesses the damage to the oil pipeline in Ukraine.
In a letter to European Council President António Costa on Thursday, Orbán stated that he was "fully aware of the political difficulties" created by Budapest's blocking of the loan, which had been agreed upon by all EU leaders at the December summit.
Capitals criticized Orbán for changing his mind after a Russian drone damaged the "Druzhba" oil pipeline, through which Hungary and Slovakia continued to import Russian oil at reduced prices for four years of the war.
Orbán claims that Ukraine is slow to repair the pipeline and promised to veto the loan. Ukraine and senior EU officials deny this, saying that the extent of the damage, on the contrary, makes it difficult to restore the operation of "Druzhba."
"It is in Hungary's interest to restore supplies as soon as possible," Orbán wrote in the letter. "Hungary supports the idea of a fact-finding mission involving experts delegated by Hungary and Slovakia to verify the condition of the 'Druzhba' oil pipeline. Hungary will accept the conclusions of such a mission."
A senior EU official told Politico that "the bloc has taken note of the requests for damage assessment, but the security situation complicates this task." Meanwhile, capitals are increasing pressure on Budapest to adhere to its commitments.
"Ukraine could run out of money in April if the situation is not resolved, and Orbán faces parliamentary elections that same month, with polls showing him trailing his rival Péter Magyar," the publication notes.
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