Magyar urges Zelensky to assist with resumption of oil supplies through Druzhba pipeline

BRUSSELS. April 21 (Interfax) - The leader of the Tisza party, which won Hungarian parliamentary elections, Peter Magyar has urged Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to ensure the quickest possible resumption of oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, Western media reported on Monday.

Zelensky must ensure oil flows through the pipeline once it is repaired, Magyar told a press conference. He also called on Russia to restart oil shipments.

Hungary will not accept any blackmail, Magyar said.

The Paks 2 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project is important and necessary, he also said. However, the new government needs to examine the terms of a loan allocated for it, and understand whether it could be restructured and refinanced, Magyar said.

Earlier, Hungary's outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he still had no intention of lifting his veto on the European Union's 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine until Druzhba oil supplies resumed.

As agreed with the EU, Hungary will take no financial obligations regarding this loan anyway, he said.

Orban's Fidesz party lost parliamentary elections in April, but Orban remained the prime minister for now. The transfer of power to the new government is due in May.

Meanwhile, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he has discussed the reopening of the Druzhba oil pipeline and a joint lawsuit against the EU's REPowerEU program with Peter Magyar.

"The main reason for my call with Peter Magyar was to learn about the positions of the new Hungarian political leadership regarding the reopening of the Druzhba oil pipeline and the lawsuit against the REPowerEU regulation, which the Slovak Republic and Hungary are filing against the EU in connection with the halt of Russian gas and oil supplies," Fico wrote on X following the conversation.

Fico said that since Magyar has not yet assumed the post of Hungarian prime minister, he was only able to comment on these issues in general terms. The prime minister did not specify what Magyar's response was.

Fico said that Bratislava is committed to cooperation with Budapest on energy security.

Fico congratulated Magyar on his victory and invited him to visit Slovakia.

Hungary and Slovakia have not received Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline since January 27 due to a blockade by Ukraine. Therefore, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he would not lift his veto on a 90-billion-euro EU loan to Ukraine until oil supplies are restored. After his election victory, Magyar called on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to ensure the swift restoration of the Druzhba pipeline.

The REPowerEU regulation, in particular, envisages a gradual ban on imports of Russian energy products into the EU, including all gas imports by November 2027 and oil imports by the end of 2027. Budapest and Bratislava had previously said that such a ban could only be adopted as part of sanctions and unanimously, whereas REPowerEU was approved as a trade policy measure that did not require unanimity. Therefore, both countries expressed their intention to challenge the ruling in court.