Hungary lashes out at Lithuania over Russian oil criticism

VILNIUS - Following comments by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys that he would be ashamed to live and work in a country purchasing Russian oil, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Friday accused the Baltic states of “dancing to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's tune.”

"The Lithuanian Foreign Minister could say today that he would be ashamed to live in a country that buys cheap Russian oil (...). Well, the colleague misunderstood the point! The Baltic states have been playing from Zelensky's score for a long time, they are jumping like Zelensky whistles to them," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook.

Oil prices are rising globally as Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for oil supplies, and attacks oil refining infrastructure in Persian Gulf countries amid the conflict in the Middle East.

In response, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged the European Union to lift sanctions on Russian oil and gas to curb soaring prices.

Budrys criticized the proposal in an interview with BNS, urging the bloc not to succumb to the temptation to lower prices this way.

"We see the price of cheaper oil for individual countries in the European Union – it is political autonomy, it is acting as an agent for Russia in certain situations. I would be ashamed to live, to work for such a state that, for a few dollars cheaper per barrel of oil, would do such things that I see others are forced to do," he said.

The European Union banned seaborne imports of Russian oil in 2022, and pipeline exports through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia have been effectively blocked since January.

The Hungarian foreign minister said Budapest would not yield to “Zelenskyy's blackmail.”

"No one can tell us where to buy or not to buy oil, and no one can force us to buy the oil at a higher price than before! (...). Because, unlike the Baltics, we resist Zelensky’s blackmail and protect our sovereignty!" Szijjarto said.