France, April 21 -- Orban, who has led Hungary since 2010, was ousted in the election of 12 April, in which his opponent Peter Magyar won a landslide victory, but is still the caretaker prime minister until the new government takes over in May.

He has consistently tied his refusal to approve the loan to the Druzhba pipeline dispute, but signalled on Sunday that Budapest would stop blocking the package once oil deliveries resumed. 

The dispute began after a Russian attack damaged the Druzhba pipeline in western Ukraine in January, halting deliveries of Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia, both landlocked countries that are largely dependent on Russian energy supply. 

After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Brussels had...