Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has made hostility towards Ukraine a key issue ahead of April elections. His party is entering the race trailing behind in opinion polls.
The EU has urged Zelensky to repair the pipeline quickly and is asking him to allow inspectors in to visit the damage. Some EU officials fear Zelensky’s resistance may help Orban win re-election.
But talking to reporters in Kyiv, including the BBC, Zelensky said he was simply opposed in principle to allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine while the EU sanctioned its sale elsewhere.
He said: “We either sell Russian oil or we don’t. Because the EU are forcing me to restore Druzhba.
“How is this different from lifting sanctions on the Russians? Why can we in one case tell the United States that we oppose lifting sanctions, while on the other hand forcing Ukraine to resume oil transit through Druzhba – and at a political price that effectively pays for anti-European policies?”
Zelensky’s comments come after the US loosened sanctions preventing other countries buying Russian oil in order to ease the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran. The move has drawn criticism from a number of European leaders.
BBC
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