The European Commission is “shooting itself in the foot by remaining complicit in the Ukrainian attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said today, adding that the pipeline is “essential for energy supplies for Hungary and Slovakia,” the Hungarian news agency MTI reported, quoted by BTA.
In an interview, Szijjártó said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “openly, rudely and shamelessly threatening” Hungary, saying that if Budapest does not take a pro-Ukrainian position, as demanded by Brussels, the European People’s Party and its Hungarian member party, the TISA, the pipeline “Družba“ will be under attack.
Szijjártó stressed that Ukraine is pursuing an anti-Hungarian policy and Kiev expects “Brussels and its local representatives in Hungary“ to put pressure on Budapest to abandon its current position and take one that “is completely at odds with Hungarian interests, but is in line with Ukrainian“.
Hungary receives oil from Russia via the “Družba“ pipeline and from Croatia via the “Adria“ pipeline, the minister added, but added that the capacity of the latter is insufficient.
“Družba“ interruptions make supplies to Hungary and Slovakia physically impossible. Energy supplies are not a political or ideological issue“, added the Hungarian minister, pointing out that the bombings and missile attacks on the Druzhba pipeline "do not harm Russia, but Hungarians and Slovaks".
According to Szijjártó, Zelensky's statement from last week is "scandalous", while at the same time "it is sad that the opposition and the dollar media in Hungary" are happy about it. "It is clear that there is a secret collusion between Ukraine and the Hungarian opposition. When the Ukrainians speak, the Hungarian dollar media immediately repeat it", he added.
The minister recalled how in January the European Commission stated that it was ready to take measures to ensure the security of the infrastructure critical to the energy supplies of the member states. "The European Commission is shooting itself in the foot when it remains silent in complicity and guilty way, while Ukraine attacks energy infrastructure in the direction of Hungary and Slovakia. The European Commission is now the Ukrainian Commission, because it does not represent the interests of the European Union, much less the interests of the EU member states“, Szijjártó said.
He noted that the Hungarian government has started to expand the capacity of oil pipelines from Croatia, but Zagreb is not cooperating and instead is increasing transit fees while the EC watches from the sidelines.
“The former Croatian Minister of Energy told me personally that while there are various contentious issues between Hungary and Croatia on the energy front, they are not inclined to help us on this issue. So much for European solidarity, so much for how diversification should work“, the Hungarian Foreign Minister added.
Hungary, Szijjártó noted, provides 30-40% of Ukraine's electricity imports, so the government can make things difficult, although “We don't want to harm the Ukrainian people or families - we are better than that.“
“It would be good for the Ukrainians to remember this when they decide whether to bomb the “Druzhba“ pipeline or not. They should keep this in mind,“ Szijjártó concluded.