Hungary Minister Backs Russian Energy Against EU, Opposition
(Bloomberg) -- Hungary’s top diplomat defended the country’s growing consumption of Russian energy, which has put Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s administration in the crosshairs of both the European Union and Hungary’s poll-leading opposition before an election in April.
Hungary plans to legally challenge the EU’s decision to phase out Russian energy imports, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Bloomberg News in an interview in Brussels on Thursday. He reiterated his government’s long-held view that as a landlocked country, Hungary shouldn’t be forced to cut Russian energy imports.
“Hungary is in a very dangerous, vulnerable situation with the Russian gas and oil being phased out,” Szijjarto said of the EU plan. “This this is an extremely harmful decision.”
The EU last month agreed to accelerate the phase-out of Russian energy as the continent seeks to sever links with Moscow in the aftermath of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Orban had secured an exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil purchases, following a meeting with President Donald Trump in November.
Hungary’s energy links with Russia are also a campaign issue ahead of the country’s April 12 parliamentary election, with Orban’s Fidesz party trailing former regime insider Peter Magyar’s opposition movement Tisza after 16 years in power.
Last weekend, Magyar tapped a former energy envoy in a previous Orban administration, Anita Orban, who is not related to the premier. She has a decades-old track record as a critic of central Europe’s reliance on Russian hydrocarbons.
While Tisza hasn’t ruled out the purchase of Russian energy in the future, it has said it wants to accelerate the diversification of procurements after Orban doubled down on Russian energy.
Under the nationalist leader, Hungary has become the most outspoken supporter in the EU of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump — and a fierce critic of EU aid for Ukraine. Szijjarto said Hungary continues to seek to host potential future peace talks with the presidents of the US, Russia and Ukraine — something Kyiv has opposed given Orban’s leanings.
The Orban administration will continue to oppose Western financing to Kyiv and block Ukraine’s potential future accession to the EU, the Hungarian minister said.
Orban earlier this month signed up Hungary to Trump’s controversial Board of Peace initiative, intended to steer peace efforts in Gaza, but which EU officials see as an attempt to circumvent the United Nations.
Although Trump sought a $1 billion contribution from new members for a permanent seat, Szijjarto said Hungary was not aware of any financial obligations. He said the payment of dues was “not on the agenda.”
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