Moscow (AFP) – Hungary wants guarantees from Russia that it will not charge Budapest more for oil and gas, as global prices jump due to conflict in the Middle East, Hungary’s foreign minister said Wednesday. On a visit to Moscow, Peter Szijjarto also called for Russia to release ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war captured by Russia on the battlefield while fighting for Ukraine. Szijjarto is expected to make the requests to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in the Kremlin later.
“This is why I am here in Moscow — to make sure that, even in times of crisis, the crude oil and natural gas necessary for Hungary’s energy supply will continue to be available to us,” Szijjarto said on Facebook. “I am also here to obtain guarantees that, despite the changed circumstances and the global energy crisis, Russia will continue to deliver the necessary quantities of oil and gas for Hungary at unchanged prices,” he added.
Hungary is the European Union’s biggest importer of Russian fossil fuels, having maintained purchases and secured exemptions from sanctions despite pressure from Brussels amid the Russian offensive on Ukraine. Energy prices have surged since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, including the benchmark price of Russian crude. Budapest was already facing disruption from the closure of the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary and which Ukraine says was damaged in a Russian strike in January.
Kyiv says the threat of another attack is holding up repairs. Hungary and Slovakia — which also buys Russian crude — accuse Kyiv of deliberately stalling its reopening. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said buyers of Russian oil were “facing blackmail” and accused Kyiv of “the deliberate blocking of deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline”.
Szijjarto is also seeking the release of at least two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war, whom Russia has captured on the battlefield. “We would like the Hungarians who ended up in Russian captivity to be able to return home,” he said. Ukraine is home to a large Hungarian minority, most of whom live in the western Zakarpattia region and hold dual citizenship.
© 2024 AFP
