Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that a pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia that was damaged in attacks by Moscow would reopen by the end of April.
“As for the oil pipeline, as we promised, it will be repaired by the end of April — not completely, but enough for it to function,” Zelensky told reporters in Berlin.
The status of the pipeline had been a major source of tension between Zelensky — who wants all EU countries to stop buying Russian energy — and Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban — who maintained good ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the invasion of Ukraine — suffered a painful election defeat on Sunday, bringing an end to his 16-year rule.
He made Ukraine a central campaign issue, portraying Kyiv as “hostile” to Hungary.
But his successor, Magyar, despite promising a new era in Hungarian politics, also opposes sending EU military aid to Ukraine or offering Kyiv a fast-track route to join the 27-nation bloc.
Zelensky called for talks with Magyar, whom he congratulated on Sunday evening hours after polls closed.
Also Read: Russia, China sign deal for new gas pipeline
“We are ready for a meeting. Whenever the new prime minister is ready,” Zelensky said in a press conference alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
On Sunday, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said he had been informed by Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, about the discovery of the explosives. Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, hinted that Ukraine could be responsible in what he described as “an attack on our sovereignty”.
The incident was picked up widely in the media before Hungary’s election on Sunday in which the pro-Russian Orbán is lagging in the polls and fighting for his political survival.
Péter Magyar, the leader of Hungary’s opposition, accused Orbán of “attempting to instill fear in his own people through false-flag operations” and following “the advice of Russian agents”. Ukraine denied being involved, a conclusion endorsed by the chief of Serbia’s military security agency, responsible for the investigation.
PUNCH
