Trilateral consultations with the energy ministers of Slovakia and Ukraine had been scheduled for today.
“But the Ukrainian side ultimately refused to participate. This happened after our delegation from the Ministry of Energy spent three and a half days in Kyiv trying to establish dialogue,” Szijjarto wrote on X.
He also claimed that all requests for meetings were rejected.
“And EU inspectors are also not being allowed to visit the facility,” Péter Szijjártó added.
Hungary’s foreign minister claims that the Druzhba oil pipeline is technically ready for operation and that Ukraine is not restoring its operation allegedly for political reasons.
On March 11, a group of Hungarian officials arrived in Ukraine. The purpose of the trip was to clarify the “real condition” of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
However, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said the group of officials had no official status or scheduled meetings in Ukraine, making it “incorrect to call them a ‘delegation.’”
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was unaware of what a Hungarian government delegation was doing in Ukraine.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Zelenskyy of lying.
However, diplomatic sources provided NV with a document dated March 10 stating that the visit dates proposed in a note from the Hungarian Embassy were unacceptable to Ukraine.
On March 14, Naftogaz CEO Serhii Koretskyi and representatives of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry held a briefing for representatives of foreign diplomatic missions on the consequences of Russian attacks on the Druzhba pipeline infrastructure. According to Koretskyi, representatives of 31 countries took part in the briefing.