BUDAPEST, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hungary will block the disbursement of a planned 90-billion-euro (106-billion-U.S.-dollar) European Union (EU) military loan for Ukraine until crude oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline are restored, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.
In a video statement posted on his official social media page, Szijjarto said Ukraine has decided not to restart oil shipments to Hungary "despite the absence of any physical or technical obstacles." He accused Ukraine of using the blockade of the Druzhba pipeline to exert political pressure on Hungary ahead of parliamentary elections.
"Until Ukraine restarts crude oil deliveries to Hungary, it will not have access to the 90-billion-euro military loan," Szijjarto said, repeating that Hungary will block EU decisions favorable to Ukraine as long as the pipeline remains suspended.
The minister also said that Hungary considers the suspension of oil transit a breach of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
The announcement marks a further escalation in the dispute between Budapest and Kyiv over the suspension of Russian crude transit through Ukraine.
Hungary has already halted diesel exports to Ukraine and begun releasing crude from its strategic reserves to safeguard domestic and regional supply. ■