"What we can offer is the Hungarian model," Orbán said. Hungary, he noted, is a member of both NATO and the EU while enjoying "excellent ties" with Russia based on mutual respect.Continue reading
Hungary is “an important partner” of Russia in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after five hours of talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Moscow on Tuesday.
Notwithstanding the pandemic, bilateral trade turnover increased by 30 percent to 5.5 billion dollars in the first 11 months of last year, with investments from both sides worth one billion dollars, Putin said.
The Russian-Hungarian inter-governmental committee for economic cooperation is working effectively and producing results, Putin said.
Whereas Europe would encounter problems with its gas supply, he said, Hungary’s supply was secure thanks to its contract with Russia for 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year until 2036. Hungarian consumers, he added, had access to gas at well below the market price.
Putin said Hungary had continued to prove its reliability in transmitting deliveries of Russian natural gas.
Energy plays an important role in Russian-Hungarian economic relations, Putin noted, adding that Russia had been supplying energy to Hungary for many years without interruption, covering 55 percent of its oil consumption and 80 percent of its gas consumption.
The president also referred to a joint cultural cooperation program lasting until 2024 and noted that a Russian cultural festival held in Hungary had been a great success. Putin thanked Hungary for its support for Russia’s organization of the 2030 World Expo.
Both leaders qualified Hungarian-Russian relations as “balanced, positive and constructive”. Orbán said Hungary was committed to ensuring relations continued on the same path.
Referring to Hungary’s April 3 general election, Putin said he trusted he would be able to continue working with Orbán afterwards.
Featured photo illustration by MTI/AP/Szputnyik/Pavel Bednyakov
