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Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó engaged in a heated exchange with Ukrainian journalists after his country said it would block an emergency loan at a meeting in Brussels, with the confrontation descending into personal accusations.
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The government of Viktor Orbán disrupted a planned sanctions package against Russia on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Ukraine’s full-scale invasion, blaming Kyiv, Brussels and the opposition for sabotaging oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.
Budapest accuses Ukraine of deliberately obstructing the transit of oil after the infrastructure around it was damaged last month and has described the move as political blackmail. Ukraine denies the accusations and points to Russian strikes for the damage.
On Monday, as ministers gathered in Brussels, Szijjártó faced a barrage of critical questions from the media in Brussels. One Ukrainian journalist asked Szijjártó why his Hungary “hates Ukraine so much” to punish it during a difficult winter.
Hungary has also said it won’t supply Ukraine with electricity until oil flows resume.
“We don’t hate Ukraine. The problem is that the Ukrainian state hates Hungary, it has pursued an anti-Hungarian political approach for the last ten years. Ukraine behaves in a very hostile manner towards Hungary,” Szijjártó said.
A Ukrainian correspondent then asked him why Hungary continues to buy Russia energy, contributing to the war machine. “Why are you doing that?” the journalist pressed.
“Do you know the amount we are paying for these oil supplies? Do you know what proportion that represents of Russia’s GDP?” Szijjártó replied.
“It’s small, but it still goes towards drones,” the journalist responded.
Szijjártó snapped back: “Don’t be un-serious. It is our sovereign right to decide where we purchase our energy” from.
In December, Hungary secured an exemption, meaning it won’t financially contribute for Ukrainian aid alongside Slovakia and the Czech Republic, in exchange for not blocking a €90 billion loan backed by the rest of member states. In a dramatic u-turn, Budapest signalled over the weekend it would reverse course and block the package.
Hungary tends to block measures in exchange for last-minute concessions from the EU, but it has never done it so late in the legislative process. Unanimity is needed to push through new sanctions and use the EU budget’s headroom to back the loan.
When a second Ukrainian journalist pressed Szijjártó asking why his country changed its position since December, the exchange grew more heated.
“Are you serious? Do you not know what has changed since then? Did you not hear about Ukraine’s decision not to restart oil deliveries to Hungary?” the minister said, in reference to the damaged pipeline.
The European Commission said Monday it believes Druzhba was damaged in a Russian strike on January 27, which led to large blaze. Brussels has called an emergency meeting to address the dispute to be held on Wednesday. It has also stressed the Hungary is not facing an emergency situation while reiterating that Ukraine is in the midst of a crisis.
Hungary and Slovakia are the only two EU member states that still import large amounts of Russian oil, despite repeated calls from Brussels to reduce their dependency on Russian energy. The EU has agreed to phase out Russian fuels across the union by 2027.
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