The Hungarian Foreign Minister will meet with Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Denis Madurov, as well as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Petar Szijjártó is visiting Moscow today to discuss new gas supplies, the ruling Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
“In order to guarantee the security of Hungary’s energy supply, the government has decided to purchase an additional 700 million cubic meters of natural gas, in addition to the quantities already provided for in long-term contracts,” reads a Fidesz message on Facebook.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister will meet with Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Denis Madurov, as well as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The visit takes place the day after the presentation by Brussels of the plan which aims to reduce by 15% the European demand for natural gas in order to deal with the decrease in Russian exports and to progress the independence from Moscow.
Hungary, a landlocked country without access to the sea, imports 65% of its oil and 80% of its natural gas from Russia. A “state of emergency” was declared last week.
Viktor Orbán, who condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, maintains an ambivalent attitude towards Russia.
Budapest voted for European Union sanctions against Moscow, but blocked a plan to embargo Russian oil for weeks, calling it an “atomic bomb” for its economy, before securing an exemption for oil transported by pipeline.
Since then, he does not miss an opportunity to blame the deterioration of the situation of the Hungarian economy on the policy of sanctions.
The European Union has “shot its lungs out”, he said last week, calling on the Union’s leaders to change course.
RES-EMP
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