BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� 鈥檚 pro-Russian foreign minister Friday accused neighboring of seeking to interfere in upcoming Hungarian elections in which faces an .
Foreign Minister P茅ter Szijj谩rt贸 made the accusation in a speech to several hundred protesters outside Ukraine鈥檚 embassy in Budapest. The demonstration, organized by a shadowy pro-government organization with ties to Orb谩n’s Fidesz party, came the same day that Hungary and seized two armored cars carrying some $80 million in cash. Kyiv decried the move as illegal hostage taking.
Speaking at the protest, Szijj谩rt贸 made a slew of unsubstantiated allegations, including that Ukraine had been coordinating with the European Union and Orb谩n’s opposition to block Russian oil shipments to Hungary across the Druzhba pipeline.
Demonstrators shouted angrily when Szijj谩rt贸 accused Ukraine of seeking to influence Hungary鈥檚 April elections in order to bring in a government that would make decisions more favorable to Kyiv.
鈥淭his is something that will not happen in Hungary. There will be no pro-Ukraine government, and Hungary will not have a pro-Ukraine prime minister,” Szijj谩rt贸 said.
鈥淯kraine is fighting for itself, not for us and not in place of us, so we owe absolutely nothing to Ukraine,鈥� he said.
The demonstration, in which other ruling party politicians also spoke, came against a backdrop of rising tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, who are embroiled in a over Hungary鈥檚 access to Russian oil through a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory.
Oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline have been interrupted since Jan. 27. Ukraine says a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline鈥檚 infrastructure, and that repairing it carried risks to technicians. It said that even if restored, it would remain vulnerable to further Russian attacks.
Hungary鈥檚 government has accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies of Russian crude, and has vowed to take strong countermeasures against Kyiv until oil flows resume.
Orb谩n, who has maintained close relations with the Kremlin while escalating an ahead of the election next month, has called Ukraine Hungary鈥檚 鈥渆nemy,鈥� and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of seeking to provoke an energy crisis in order to sway the April 12 vote.
The Hungarian leader previously ceased diesel shipments to Ukraine, vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia and for Kyiv in retaliation for the interruption in oil shipments. He鈥檚 also to key energy infrastructure sites across Hungary, accusing Ukraine of plotting disruptions.
Trailing in most polls behind a popular center-right challenger, the populist Orb谩n has staked the election on convincing voters that Ukraine poses an existential threat to Hungary鈥檚 security.
In office since 2010, the EU鈥檚 longest-serving leader has claimed that if he loses the election, the EU will force Hungary into bankruptcy by cutting Russian energy imports, and that Hungarian youth will be sent to their deaths on the front lines in Ukraine.
Szijj谩rto, the Hungarian foreign minister, traveled to Moscow on Wednesday for a cordial , where he sought guarantees from Russian authorities that Hungary would continue to have access to Russian oil and gas despite disruptions caused by and interruptions to Druzhba flows.
On Friday, he said Ukraine had placed Hungary under an 鈥渙il blockade鈥� meant to assist Orb谩n’s challenger before the vote.
鈥淭hey know precisely that if there is a crisis in Hungary鈥檚 oil supply … it is bad for the government,鈥� he said.
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