Kyiv denounces Hungary's Druzhba assessment delegation as 'tourists' with no mandate
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A Hungarian delegation is traveling to Ukraine to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline and "push for the rapid restoration of oil transit to Hungary," Zoltan Kovacs, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said on March 11.
"We know that this morning, a group of Hungarian citizens entered the territory of Ukraine under the general rules for all citizens of the Schengen zone, using a visa-free regime. Any person for tourist purposes can enter Ukraine from the Schengen countries in this way," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement to journalists.
"This group of persons does not have an official status or scheduled official meetings on the territory of Ukraine, so it is definitely incorrect to call them a 'delegation'."
The Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine, has not been operating since late January.
Ukrainian officials have said it is due to a Russian strike that damaged energy infrastructure in western Ukraine, but Budapest and Bratislava have accused Kyiv of deliberately halting the transit of oil.
"The mission's goal is to represent Hungary's interests firmly at the negotiating table and hold substantive talks with Ukraine's energy authorities, ambassadors in Kyiv, and a representative of the European Commission," Kovacs' press announcement reads.
The delegation is being led by Gabor Czepek, the state secretary of Hungary's Energy Ministry.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused Kyiv of lying after President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was unaware of what the Hungarian delegation was doing in Ukraine.
Szijjarto posted a photo of a document dated March 10 that he said showed the Hungarian Embassy had informed Ukraine's Foreign Ministry about the visit, noting that the delegation was scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on March 12.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the visit had not been coordinated with Kyiv and that Hungary was formally notified of Ukraine's objection to the proposed format.
"For the Ukrainian side, the terms of the visit proposed in the aforementioned note of the embassy are unacceptable," the statement reads. "We suggest that the Hungarian side agree through diplomatic channels on new terms for the visit."
Tensions between the two countries have escalated in the weeks since the suspension of Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline.
On March 5, Hungarian authorities seized two vehicles belonging to Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank as they were transporting $40 million, 35 million euros, and nine kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine through Hungary.
Orban's government claimed the seizure was prompted by concerns about possible money laundering. However, transporting cash overland has become common practice for Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 forced the closure of the country's airspace.
Ukraine called the seizure of the Oschadbank employees an act of "hostage taking," urging European partners to respond to "the Hungarian government's lawlessness." The employees were released on March 6.
