European Commission seeks mission to inspect Druzhba pipeline condition

This was announced by European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen at a briefing in Brussels, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

“We have proposed a mission to Ukraine to inspect the pipeline,” Itkonen said.

When asked whether the Ukrainian authorities had accepted the proposal for a fact-finding mission, the spokeswoman replied that the European Commission was “currently awaiting a response.”

Regarding the Hungarian delegation sent to Ukraine by Viktor Orbán's government, she noted that she had no details about it.

For her part, European Commission chief spokeswoman Paula Pinho, who also participated in the briefing, added that on this issue, “it is best to contact our Hungarian colleagues directly.” 

Pinho noted that the European Commission has been engaged in intensive discussions and contacts with Ukraine, as well as with the most interested member states, for several weeks regarding the repair of the Druzhba pipeline.

The spokeswoman added that the European Commission has been engaged in intensive discussions and contacts with Ukraine and the most interested member states on this issue [the repair of the Druzhba pipeline] for several weeks.

As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he did not know what the Hungarian delegation, which arrived for alleged negotiations on the restoration of the Druzhba oil pipeline, was doing in Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry stated that since this group of people has no official status or scheduled official meetings on the territory of Ukraine, it is definitely incorrect to call them a “delegation.”

On the evening of March 11, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of lying on Facebook, commenting on the head of state's statement that he did not know what the Hungarian delegation was doing in Ukraine.

After receiving a note from the Hungarian Embassy regarding the arrival of the Hungarian delegation on March 11, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the proposed dates for the visit were unacceptable and suggested agreeing on new dates, diplomatic sources told Ukrinform.

Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote an open letter to Volodymyr Zelensky, calling for the immediate reopening of the Druzhba oil pipeline.

European Council President António Costa and Volodymyr Zelensky agreed that Ukraine would assess how long it would take to repair the Druzhba pipeline damaged by Russia.

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