Top Ukrainian diplomat admits blocking Druzhba pipeline over Hungary’s stance on EU loan

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has confirmed that the main obstacle to resuming Druzhba pipeline operations was Budapest’s decision to block the European €90 billion funding for Kiev. "We have provided our confirmations. We have a date, and the infrastructure has been repaired. I want to be very cautious here, because I believe that the most significant, artificially created obstacle, the Hungarian one, has also been removed," Sibiga said. He said it was time to "move forward together so that Ukraine can receive the €90 billion loan from the EU." The Druzhba pipeline has been out of service since January 27, as Kiev claimed it needed repairs. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Ukraine was blocking Russian oil supplies for political reasons and the pipeline was still operational. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Ukraine’s actions energy blackmail, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Vladimir Zelensky was lying about damage to the pipeline. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov said in an interview with TASS that oil transit was blocked on instructions from the European Commission to secure Orban’s defeat at Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, which he ultimately lost. In response to the halt in transit, Hungary blocked the €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine, stating that "as long as there is no oil, there will be no money." On April 21, Vladimir Zelensky said the repairs at the allegedly damaged segment of the Druzhba oil pipeline were completed and oil transit may now resume, without indicating any specific timeframe.