A delegation tasked with investigating the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline has arrived in Kyiv. Its goal is to resolutely represent Hungarian interests at the negotiating table and to get the oil pipeline back into operation as quickly as possible.
The Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and head of the delegation, Gábor Czepek, reported from Kyiv on Wednesday evening and reminded everyone that this is an officially registered delegation, as confirmed by Chief Diplomat Péter Szijjártó. He said that he had heard that
numerous European Union ambassadors accredited in Kyiv were also interested in the delegation’s work, so that exciting days lay ahead.
In addition to the state secretary, the investigative commission that traveled to Kyiv consists of an expert from the oil industry, a government official with expertise in international relations, and an energy specialist.
Gábor Czepek at the Záhony border crossing. Photo: MTI/Balázs Attila
Earlier, the Ukrainian president said he did not know what the Hungarian delegation was doing there. “The Foreign Ministry told me that people had arrived.
They described it as a private trip,”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a reporter from the Ukrinform news agency.
The group that arrived from Hungary has no official status in Ukraine and no planned official meetings to inspect the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline, so it is inappropriate to refer to them as a “delegation,” said Heorhij Tyhyj, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, even before Zelenskyy’s statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is lying when he claims that the Hungarian government did not coordinate the visit of its delegation to inspect the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline, because this was communicated to Kyiv the day before in an official diplomatic note, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X on Wednesday.
However, sources quoted by RBC-Ukraine announced that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had already responded to this note and clearly stated that the proposed dates were not suitable and that the visit should be postponed.
It will be interesting to see how the Ukrainian authorities deal with the Hungarian delegation, whether it will actually be able to hold substantive talks or whether it will be perceived merely as a media event. It is highly likely that the Hungarians will not be allowed to see the allegedly damaged facilities.
The Ukrainian president is lying. @ZelenskyyUa claims he was unaware that a Hungarian delegation would arrive in Ukraine because the Hungarian government did not coordinate the visit with the Ukrainian MFA.
Here are the facts. Yesterday we informed the Ukrainian authorities in… pic.twitter.com/887ew1Jyjt
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) March 11, 2026
Via MTI; Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Főosztály
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