Hungarian delegation lied that visit to Druzhba pipeline had been coordinated with Ukraine

Hungary has not coordinated a visit by its delegation to the Druzhba oil pipeline with Ukraine and Kyiv has sent Budapest an official objection to the proposed format.

"The dates for the visit proposed in the above-mentioned note from the embassy are not acceptable for the Ukrainian side. We propose that the Hungarian side coordinate new dates for the visit of the Hungarian delegation, headed by Mr Gabor Czepek, Deputy Minister and State Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs in Hungary's Ministry of Energy, through diplomatic channels," a note from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reads, responding to a message from Budapest about the visit.

Earlier, a Hungarian delegation led by Czepek announced plans to visit Ukraine to hold talks on resuming the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline and to inspect its condition.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that a Hungarian "monitoring group" had entered Ukraine on the morning of 11 March, but it has no official status and no official meetings are scheduled. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented that he was not aware of what the Hungarian delegation was doing in Ukraine.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó then accused Zelenskyy of lying and posted a Hungarian diplomatic note, which also suggested that Budapest had requested a meeting between Czepek and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal.

Zelenskyy's adviser Dmytro Lytvyn responded by saying that "official visits are based on agreement, not simply by notes thrown around".