Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday that the EU had conveyed signals that Ukraine could soon restore oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, potentially as early as Monday.
The move could break a long-running dispute between Budapest and Kiev over the pipeline, which has seen Orban block a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine in recent months.
Druzhba gas pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine, has been non-functional since late January, when it was damaged by Russian strikes, according to Kiev.
Hungary and Slovakia, the last EU countries still getting oil from Russia via the Soviet-era pipeline, have accused Ukraine of dragging its feet on repairs.
“Through Brussels, we have received an indication from Ukraine that they are ready to restore oil shipments through the pipeline as of Monday,” Orbán. wrote in X.
He added that oil flows will be unblocked Hungary’s controversial credit freeze. “Once oil shipments are restored, we will no longer obstruct the approval of the loan,” he said.
Hungary’s centre-right prime minister-elect, Péter Magyar, who will take power in May, also said on Friday that Russian oil flows could resume next week.
Brussels in two minds about curbing the Ukrainian pipeline
Ukraine’s decision to hold an EU mission to inspect the Druzhba pipeline that sends Russia…
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