The meeting touched on the effect of the war in Ukraine and "botched Brussels sanctions" on skyrocketing energy prices, the PM's press chief said.Continue reading
At a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the minister underlined that the government has a duty to ensure Hungary’s full supply, even in the midst of the energy crisis in Europe. He said that this was why the decision had been taken to purchase an additional 700 million cubic metres of natural gas over and above the amount stipulated in the long-term contracts, which “whether we like it or not, would not be possible without sources from Russia”.
“You can sell false hopes, you can dream, you can blow up communication balloons, but the fact remains the fact, the physical reality remains the physical reality, that without Russian sources it is simply impossible to buy that much extra gas in Europe today.
He added that the replenishment of gas reservoirs is on schedule, currently at 27.3 percent of annual consumption, compared to the European average of 17.3 percent. “In normal times, this would be enough, it would give us security, but we all know that we are not living in normal times, so we need to go even more secure,” he stressed.
Szijjártó said that Hungary had taken all the necessary measures to receive the extra volume and to secure financial resources. In the coming weeks, a daily supply capacity of around 20 million cubic meters will be available for this purpose on the southern route and on the interconnector with Slovakia and Austria. “Despite all the circumstances, we want to make sure that no one in Hungary is left in an undignified or vulnerable situation, that there is enough gas for every Hungarian, every Hungarian family and every Hungarian business,” he said.
The minister said that another aim of his visit was to make it clear that Hungary wants peace in Ukraine as soon as possible, because war has tragic consequences.
We ask everyone to do their utmost to bring the war to an end as soon as possible and to bring peace as soon as possible. We want an immediate ceasefire and peace talks,
he underlined.
Finally, he said that it would be contrary to the Hungarian national interest if the world were to move back towards “blocisation”. “We do not want to return to a world order where we find ourselves on the periphery of one of the blocs, in a buffer zone or next to a buffer zone”, he said. Minister Szijjártó held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Deputy Prime Minister for Industry and Trade Yenis Manturov in Moscow.
Featured Photo: Facebook Szijjártó Péter