MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Ukraine will restore the Druzhba pipeline within 1.5 months provided that the EU unblocks the €90 billion loan, Vladimir Zelensky said at a meeting with the government, which was broadcast on the Ukrinform news agency website.

"As for the timeline: personally, I wouldn't restore it. <...> However, the EU claims that the €90 billion [loan] will remain blocked unless Ukraine begins restoring the pipeline. <...> According to information [from Naftogaz], it could be operational within a month or a month and a half, but that doesn't mean everything destroyed will be fully repaired. Restoration is possible within 1.5 months, provided that European countries find no other way to unblock the funds for Ukraine," Zelensky stated.

Zelensky also said that he does not intend to allow an independent commission to assess the condition of the Druzhba pipeline.

"We are an independent state. <...> If they want to inspect us, we have clearly stated that there is damage. I don't think the European Commission representatives don't trust us," he said.

Russian oil has not been flowing to Hungary since January 27. Earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that Budapest has intelligence data indicating that the pipeline is operational and that Ukraine is blocking Russian oil supplies solely for political reasons. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov told TASS that the blocking is being carried out on the orders of the European Commission in order to ensure the defeat of Orban and his party in the Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12.