As the war of words continued, Ukraine’s Sybiha said Hungary and Slovakia should “send their concerns to the Kremlin.”
Russian oil accounted for 92 percent of Budapest’s energy imports last year, according to the Center for the Study of Democracy, a European policy institute. Orbán has frequently argued his country has no viable alternatives to Russian imports.
Funding war
Budapest last week called on Croatia to supply it with seaborne shipments of Russian oil via its Adria pipeline in order to replace the supplies lost as a result of the Druzhba closure. Croatia has long offered to step in to help Hungary with its energy needs, arguing it has more than enough capacity, but Zagreb has refused to transport Hungary’s purchases of Russian oil.
“A barrel bought from Russia may appear cheaper to some countries, but helps fund war and attacks on Ukrainian people,” Croatian Energy Minister Ante Šušnjar said last week.
Hungary, which once claimed Croatia didn’t have the capacity to meet Budapest’s oil needs, was shifting the goal posts by demanding Zagreb transport Russian oil, a European diplomat with knowledge of the conversations told POLITICO, granted anonymity to speak freely. “They are entangling themselves more and more in their lies,” the diplomat said.
Orbán had agreed to Ukraine’s wartime financial lifeline on the basis that Hungary, alongside Czechia and Slovakia, would be exempt from paying down the EU loan.