Ukraine confirmed the arrival of a group of Hungarians in the country on Wednesday after Budapest announced it had sent a delegation to negotiate the damaged Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. However, according to Kyiv, this group has no official status, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
- Ukraine confirmed the arrival of the group of Hungarians, but denied its official status.
- Kyiv described the Hungarian group as unofficial, with no scheduled official meetings.
- The group is headed by State Secretary Gábor Czepek, who is dealing with the Družba pipeline.
- The delegation has already held talks in Bratislava with the Slovak energy sector and government officials.
- Oil has not flowed through Druzhba since January because of the attack, while political tensions are rising.
“This group has no official status and no scheduled official meetings, so it is clearly incorrect to call them a delegation,” Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Heorhiy Tichy told journalists.
Hungarian media reported that a delegation led by State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Gábor Czepek will travel to Ukraine on Wednesday to discussed the restarting of the Druzhba pipeline and, if possible, also checked its condition. According to the index.hu server, Czepek stated that the delegation held talks in Bratislava with representatives of the Slovak energy sector and with representatives of the government.
Oil from Russia has not flowed through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia since January 27. According to Kyiv, the reason is the Russian attack on the oil pipeline facility. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suspect Ukraine of political blackmail, which claims that it is working to repair damaged infrastructure.
