Hungary demands that the EU immediately lift the ban on oil and gas from Russia. This was written on X by the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, UNN reports.
Details
"The EU must immediately lift the ban on Russian oil and gas imports. With the escalation of the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a significant part of the world's energy supply is now at risk," Szijjártó said.
He believes that "Europe is particularly vulnerable, given that the EU has already banned imports of Russian energy." "Now the conflict in the Middle East is also reducing global supply. When supply shrinks, prices rise. Therefore, Europe faces the risk of sharp price increases," the Hungarian Foreign Minister noted.
"If Brussels maintains sanctions, it will seriously harm the European people and the European economy. The main focus should be on protecting the interests of Europeans, not on ideology," Szijjártó's statement reads.
US may lift sanctions on Russian oil to stabilize market – Bessent07.03.26, 01:10 • [views_59465]
Hungary maintains warm relations with Moscow despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and continues to buy Russian oil and gas despite EU sanctions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as Reuters notes, has made Russia's war against Ukraine a key theme of his campaign for the parliamentary elections on April 12, which has intensified friction between Budapest and Kyiv.
This comes as Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying, for political reasons, the repair of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, and which was reportedly severely damaged by fire after a Russian attack in late January.