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The European Commission has reprimanded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for comments that Hungary interpreted as a threat against Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Zelensky said yesterday that he would give his military Orban's address and then they would have a direct conversation in their own language.
Hungary was offended by these comments, as an escalating clash between Kiev and Budapest threatens to spiral out of control.
" Specifically regarding the comments made by President Zelenskyy, we as the European Commission are very clear that this kind of language is not acceptable. There should be no threats against EU member states," Commission deputy spokesman Olof Gill told reporters on Friday, in a rare condemnation of the leader in Kiev.
Speaking from the podium at the Commission headquarters in Brussels, Gill called on both sides to calm down.
“At the moment there is a lot of rhetoric and inflammatory rhetoric on the rise. We believe that such rhetoric from all sides is neither helpful nor conducive to achieving the common goals that we all have here. Brussels is in active discussions with all sides and urging them to calm down a bit and tone down the rhetoric ,” he said.
Asked whether the Commission planned to express solidarity with Orbán, the spokesman said he had “nothing to add” beyond his previous remarks.
“The Commission is focused on maintaining unity around key objectives, including increasing pressure on Russia to end its war, advancing a large EU loan for Ukraine, and ensuring the bloc's energy security ,” Gill concluded.
Tensions between Ukraine and Hungary have escalated in recent weeks, as Budapest continues to veto a €90 billion loan package for Kiev. Orban’s main grievance remains the halt to the flow of Russian oil through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which Budapest believes Kiev has deliberately blocked. Ukraine denies Orban’s claim, saying the pipeline was badly damaged by a Russian drone attack in January.
After his emotional outburst on Thursday, Zelensky said he was ready to repair and restart the pipeline within a month if the EU officially requests it and promised that Orbán would unblock the 90 billion euro loan.
Ukraine is expected to run out of funds until the end of March as it resists a full-scale Russian invasion, and EU leaders have pledged to cover Kiev's financial needs for the next two years.
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