Orban proposes for European Commission to lift sanctions on Russian oil and gas

According to Ukrinform, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs stated this on the social network X.

Orban claims that rising fuel prices in Hungary are caused not only by the war in the Middle East but also by the alleged "blockade" of Russian oil supplies through Ukraine via the Druzhba Pipeline. He also described the halt of Russian oil transit as a "threat" not only to Hungary but supposedly to the entire European Union.

"Ukraine's oil blockade and the Middle East war are driving prices up. Europe must face reality: we need to review and lift all sanctions on Russian energy. I have proposed this to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and convened an emergency government meeting to protect Hungarian families," Kovacs quoted Orban as saying.

As Ukrinform previously reported, on January 27 Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in Lviv Oblast. As a result of the damage, the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba Pipeline was halted.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban also wrote an open letter to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, urging him to immediately reopen the pipeline. The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed that Ukraine would assess how long repairs to the Russia-damaged Druzhba pipeline would take.

Hungary had already threatened to stop exporting electricity and gas to Ukraine if Kyiv did not restore the transit of Russian oil to the country.

Later, following a phone conversation on February 27 with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, Orban stated that their countries would create an investigative commission to assess the condition of the Druzhba pipeline.

Hungary has repeatedly warned that it could halt electricity and gas exports to Ukraine if the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline is not restored.