Work is progressing well at the site, with the first concrete being poured this year.Continue reading
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday. Following the meeting, Mr. Szijjártó said that it was in Hungary’s interest to maintain a fair and mutually respectful relationship with Russia.
“It is in Hungary’s interest to maintain relations based on fairness and mutual respect, and even to develop cooperation with Russia in areas not affected by sanctions,” Mr. Szijjártó said. He noted that the head of Russian diplomacy has always tried to meet the requests of the Hungarian government and is positive and open to resolving issues of importance to the parties.
He also pointed out that
Russia will always be part of the Central European reality, therefore Hungary cannot afford to give up its relations.”
The politician said that it was essential to develop bilateral cooperation in areas not affected by sanctions and welcomed the fact that last week a number of company representatives attended the Hungarian-Russian Business Forum in Budapest.
Mr. Szijjártó added that the Paks nuclear plant’s expansion project had reached another milestone, as the full excavation of the ground had begun and the first concrete could be laid this year. In addition, the Hungarian government is planning to extend the operating life of the four existing Paks reactor units and is counting on the cooperation of the Russian side in this respect.
This could increase the share of nuclear energy in domestic electricity generation to around 70 percent in the future.
This would ensure a huge independence from international energy markets, and the importance of this has been demonstrated in recent years,”
he said.
The minister also praised Russia for its flexibility in securing oil supplies, after a recent action by Ukraine jeopardized transit through the Friendship pipeline, putting Hungary and Slovakia in a difficult situation.
The issue was finally resolved through the flexibility of Russian suppliers, so full volumes continue to arrive,”
he said.
As for the Ukrainian foreign minister’s visit to Budapest next week, Péter Szijjártó said that the issue of minority rights will definitely be on the agenda, as Kyiv has deprived the Hungarian community of an important part of its rights to use its mother tongue since 2015. “We have a very clear expectation that we must return to where we were before 2015 in terms of rules for national minorities,” he said.
He added that economic, transport and infrastructure cooperation will also be discussed. “Of course, I will not be shy to express our pro-peace position and our hope that the war can end soon, a ceasefire can be established, peace talks can start and people’s lives can be safe,” he said.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/KKM
