Ukraine is attempting to “blackmail” Slovakia and Hungary with an oil embargo over both countries’ positions on Russia’s invasion, Budapest has claimed.
Speaking at a press conference on July 26, Hungary’s Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás, said Kyiv’s decision to embargo fuel supplied by Russian energy company Lukoil from passing through the country was motivated by a dislike of Budapest and Bratislava.
“Ukraine is blackmailing the two countries that support the ceasefire and peace talks, and this is behind the blackmail,” Gulyás said, citing the fact that other Russian firms that send oil to other countries remained unaffected.
He added that Budapest — which is responsible for around two-fifths of Ukraine’s electricity imports — could be forced to consider retaliatory measures if a solution was not found.
“Hungary does not want to blackmail Ukraine, but it is not right for them to blackmail us,” the minister added.
Gulyás repeated that the country was looking to the European Commission to mediate a solution to the current problem.
He additionally suggested that Hungary was also searching for a legal “loophole” to allow it to receive fuel from Lukoil once again.
Such a system would likely involve getting “the oil to be transferred by someone not affected by the sanctions”, he said.
The conflict has marked an escalation in tensions between Hungary and Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is adamant that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine be brought to close in a relatively short timeframe, embarking on “peace missions” to Russia, Chine and the US in recent weeks to this end.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has looked upon such efforts with suspicion, saying that while he was in favour of ending the conflict, he only wanted to do so on grounds that favour Ukraine and Ukrainian independence.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán has published a memo he wrote for European Union leaders in which he warns of an imminent escalation of the Ukraine war. https://t.co/5AVMCCs9Jx
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 19, 2024
