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The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary exchanged sharp words following comments by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and recent Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline.
On Ukraine’s Independence Day, Zelenskyy played on the word “Druzhba” (“friendship”), noting that Ukraine had always supported friendship with Hungary, but now the existence of the pipeline depended on Hungary’s stance.
Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó reacted angrily, accusing Zelenskyy of using Ukraine’s national holiday to threaten Hungary.
“We firmly reject intimidation from Ukraine’s president. We consider sovereignty and territorial integrity to be fundamental values of international politics. That is why we respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country and expect the same from others,” Szijjártó said on X.
He claimed that Ukraine had recently carried out serious attacks on Hungary’s energy supply and argued that such actions amounted to an attack on sovereignty.
“The war, in which Hungary has no part, can never justify violating our sovereignty. We call on Zelenskyy to stop threatening Hungary and recklessly attacking our energy security!” Szijjártó declared.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded in what he called “Hungarian style”:
“You do not need to tell the President of Ukraine what to do, what to say, or when. He is the president of Ukraine, not of Hungary. Hungary’s energy security is in your hands. Diversify your energy sources and free yourself from dependence on Russia, as the rest of Europe has,” Sybiha wrote on X.
Until now, Kyiv had refrained from striking the Druzhba pipeline, mainly to avoid a total breakdown in relations with Hungary.
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