France, April 23 -- Diplomats said the definitive sign-off should come on Thursday.

The feud over the pipeline pitted Hungary's nationalist premier Viktor Orban against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stalling the release of urgently needed funds for Kyiv. Resolving the stand-off will allow Brussels to start paying out the loan in the coming months.

"Implementation of our agreement with the European Union to unblock a €90 billion support package for Ukraine over two years is now effectively underway," Zelensky, who is expected to join a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus on Thursday, posted online.

"The unblocking is the right signal under the current circumstances. Russia must end its war." Pumping oil

Slovakia started rece...