Orbán on why he no longer supports a decision he previously approved, even though he personally opposes it

"I am not in a position to support any decision whatsoever favourable to Ukraine," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in a letter dated Monday to the President of the European Council. The Hungarian leader published the document on Facebook on Tuesday, after it had already been leaked by Politico.

The Hungarian government announced last week that it would block any decision favorable to Ukraine until oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline resume. The Ukrainian section of the pipeline connecting Russia with Hungary and Slovakia was shut down at the end of January following a Russian drone attack.

In his letter, Orbán reiterated the Hungarian government's previous statement according to which "there are no technical obstacles to restarting the oil transfer" and said that this "only requires a political decision by Ukraine." Arriving at Tuesday's meeting that prepares European Council meetings, Hungary's EU Affairs Minister János Bóka said that the pipeline has been operational since mid-February. On Monday, Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, called it a "huge lie" that the pipeline had been attacked by Russia at all – according to Válasz Online, the problems were caused by an issue with the power supply.

According to EUrologus, in his letter to Orbán, António Costa, President of the European Council, wrote that the Ukrainian government’s claims about the oil passing through its territory differ from what the Hungarian government is saying. He promised to bring up the issue with President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Kyiv on the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion.

At the same time, Costa also made it clear that the conclusions of the European Council must be respected. With this, he was referring to the fact that the Hungarian government also intends to block the loan for Ukraine which the body unanimously agreed on in December: the "European Council agreed on a €90 billion loan" to Ukraine, but this will have no financial impact on three member states, including Hungary. This part was included in the jointly agreed section, not in the section that only 25 of the 27 member states agreed to.

According to EUrologus and Reuters, Costa's letter emphasized that "When leaders reach a consensus, they are bound by their decision. Any breach of this commitment constitutes a violation of the principle of sincere cooperation. No Member State can be allowed to undermine the credibility of decisions taken collectively by the Council of Europe."

Sincere cooperation, officially translated as loyalty, is a fundamental principle that has already served as the basis for penalties on several occasions. However, the assembly of heads of state and government only issues guidelines and does not participate directly in the adoption of legislation, unlike the similarly named European Council, which is composed of ministers. Three pieces of legislation must be adopted by the latter in order to implement the December agreement, one of which must be adopted unanimously – this is the one that the Hungarian government is now blocking.

"As you are aware, I am one of the most disciplined and consistent members of the European Council," Orbán replied to Costa. "I fully understand your concerns. But you also certainly see the absurdity of the situation: we take a decision financially favorable to Ukraine that I personally disapprove of, then Ukraine creates an energy emergency situation in Hungary, and you ask me to pretend that nothing had happened."

On Monday, Foreign Minister Szijjártó announced that Hungary's supply is secure thanks to reserves (EU regulation stipulates there should be at least 90-days’ worth of this) and additional crude oil that has been ordered in the meantime, which can be transported via the Adria pipeline through Croatia.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Politico that the Hungarian and Slovak governments should "send their concerns to the Kremlin and ask them not to bomb Ukraine's energy infrastructure with missiles and drones." He accused Orbán of "demonizing" them for political gain, "we demand that Budapest not drag Ukraine into Hungary's internal politics." (Meanwhile, Szijjártó, Bóka, and other members of the Hungarian government have accused the Ukrainian leadership of interfering in the Hungarian election process.)

According to Syibiha, they are ready to act constructively and have already proposed several viable solutions. The paper previously reported that alternative routes had been proposed for the resumption of oil deliveries, but did not mention whether these were to be sourced from Russia.

According to the Croatian company operating the Adria pipeline, a significant amount of the oil ordered by sea is not Russian.