Hungary says it will block a key EU loan to Ukraine until Russian oil shipments resume

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary volition artifact a planned 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) European Union indebtedness to Ukraine until the travel of Russian lipid done the Druzhba pipeline resumes, Hungary's overseas curate said.

Russian lipid shipments to Hungary and Slovakia person been interrupted since Jan. 27 aft what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian drone onslaught damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude crossed Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe.

Hungary and Slovakia, which person some received a impermanent exemption from an EU argumentation prohibiting imports of Russian oil, person accused Ukraine — without providing grounds — of deliberately holding up supplies. Both countries ceased shipping diesel to Ukraine this week implicit the interruption successful lipid flows .

In a video posted connected societal media Friday evening, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukraine of “blackmailing” Hungary by failing to restart shipments. He said his authorities would artifact a monolithic interest-free indebtedness the EU approved successful December to assistance Kyiv to conscionable its subject and economical needs for the adjacent 2 years.

“We volition not springiness successful to this blackmail. We bash not enactment Ukraine’s war, we volition not wage for it,” Szijjártó said. “As agelong arsenic Ukraine blocks the resumption of lipid supplies to Hungary, Hungary volition artifact European Union decisions that are important and favorable for Ukraine.”

Hungary's determination to artifact the cardinal backing came 2 days aft it suspended diesel shipments to its embattled neighbour and lone days earlier the 4th day of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Nearly each state successful Europe has importantly reduced oregon wholly ceased Russian vigor imports since Moscow launched its warfare successful Ukraine connected Feb. 24, 2022. Yet Hungary and Slovakia — some EU and NATO members — person maintained and adjacent accrued supplies of Russian lipid and gas.

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has agelong argued Russian fossil fuels are indispensable for its system and that switching to vigor sourced from elsewhere would origin an contiguous economical illness — an statement immoderate experts dispute.

Widely seen arsenic the Kremlin’s biggest advocator successful the EU, Orbán has vigorously opposed the bloc’s efforts to authorisation Moscow implicit its invasion, and blasted attempts to deed Russia’s vigor revenues that assistance concern the war. His authorities has often threatened to veto EU efforts to assistance Ukraine.

On Saturday, Slovakia's populist Prime curate Robert Fico said his state volition halt providing exigency energy supplies to Ukraine if lipid is not flowing done the Druzhba by Monday. Orbán's main of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said earlier this week that Hungary, too, was exploring the anticipation of cutting disconnected its energy supplies to Ukraine.

Not each of the EU's 27 countries agreed to instrumentality portion successful the 90-billion-euro indebtedness bundle for Kyiv. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic opposed the plan, but a woody was reached successful which they did not artifact the indebtedness and were promised extortion from immoderate fiscal fallout.

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