Zelenskyy comments on Hungarian delegation: it’s unclear why they are in Ukraine
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Office of the President of Ukraine)
The purpose of the visit by the Hungarian delegation to Ukraine, which supposedly arrived to discuss the Druzhba pipeline, is currently unknown. The visit is being described as private, according to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his comments to the media ahead of a meeting with Bundestag President Julia Klöckner.
Responding to a question about the presence of Hungarian representatives in Kyiv, the head of state emphasized that he has no official information about the purpose of their visit.
"What is the delegation doing here? I don’t know. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told me that some people arrived. They described it as a private trip," Zelenskyy said.
The issue of restoring the Druzhba pipeline
At the same time, the president confirmed that the EU leadership, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, is interested in restoring the pipeline’s operation. Ukraine now needs to provide the EU with specific technical timelines.
According to Zelenskyy, Naftogaz (a leading enterprise in Ukraine's fuel and energy complex) is currently carrying out the calculations. Preliminary estimates suggest that restoring just the technical ability to pump oil will take between one and a half to two months.
"But we need to understand that this only restores the possibility (of oil supply through the pipeline). We are not talking about restoring from the tanks — if we were to also rebuild what was destroyed by the missiles, that’s the largest tank in Central Europe," the president emphasized.
Hungarians arrive in Ukraine to discuss the Druzhba pipeline
On March 11, Hungarian state secretary for the Ministry of Energy Gábor Czepek announced that he was heading to Kyiv. Along with him, a specialist from the oil industry, a government official with experience in international relations, and an energy market analyst also traveled to Ukraine.
According to Csepek, the Hungarian group went to Ukraine to hold talks on restoring the Druzhba pipeline and to assess its condition.
However, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the Hungarian citizens who arrived in Ukraine, supposedly for talks on the Druzhba pipeline, do not have official delegation status and no formal meetings were planned.
