Viktor Orbán: Hungary wants to be part of the solution, not the problem

Both countries understand that not only Europe, but the regions in contact with Europe have also entered the era of threats.

Budapest, 2023. január 30. A Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda által közreadott képen Orbán Viktor miniszterelnök (j) fogadja Ilham Alijev azerbajdzsáni elnököt a Karmelita kolostorban 2023. január 30-án. MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher Fotó: Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher

Hungary wants to be part of the solution, not the problem 

emphasized Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, referring to the fact that Hungary will assume a vital role in the energy transport route from Azerbaijan to Europe. During the joint press conference held with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister stated that the only promising solution to Europe’s energy weakness is diversification; from this perspective, Azerbaijan’s importance has skyrocketed since the Ukraine war.

Both countries understand that not only Europe, but the regions in contact with Europe have also entered the era of threats

– said Viktor Orbán at Monday’s joint press conference with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Budapest. 

The Prime Minister explained that the war in our neighborhood and the Brussels sanctions implemented in response have brought about a unique dangerous situation while highlighting the energy weaknesses of Europe. According to him, this has caused the importance of Azerbaijan to skyrocket. He added that: “Though Azerbaijan has only recently become a strategically important country for Europe, Hungary and Azerbaijan’s friendship dates back much farther, we are not just ‘energy buddies.” The Prime Minister emphasized that “this is not just a friendly meeting, but a discussion around important strategic issues,” and then welcomed the fact that Budapest and Baku’s strategic cooperation thus far is being raised to the next level.

According to Viktor Orbán, the only promising answer to the energy crisis is diversification; the most realistic solution is Azeri energy being transported to Europe.

That is why we welcome Baku’s commitment to double the amount of natural gas coming from Azerbaijan to Europe by 2027 

– said the PM.

“By last summer the European Union and Azerbaijan had come to an agreement to increase natural gas to the Member States by 2027 by 20 billion cubic meters. This could replace 30 percent of the capacity of the Nord Stream pipelines that transported natural gas from Russia to Europe before it was shut down last year due to damages caused by explosions,” pointed out the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation (Oeconomus Gazdaságkutató Alapítvány) in its analysis.

In connection with this, Ilham Aliyev announced that Azerbaijan has enough natural gas and oil to satisfy Europe’s needs for the next 100 years, even if they require double the current amount or more.

The political will is there, everything else depends on the intentions and needs of our partners 

– emphasized the Azeri President.

Additionally, Azerbaijan’s role in the field of renewable energies also seems to be growing. This is demonstrated by the agreement reached last year on sending green electricity to Hungary from Azerbaijan via Romania and Georgia. One of Baku’s main goals is to fully sustainably rebuild the territories regained from Armenia in 2020; with those developments, it will be able to increase the share of renewable energy sources in both the country’s energy variety and exports.

Renewable energy sources further increase the importance of Azerbaijan and bring us closer to Europe

– pointed out President Aliyev. 

He also added that to achieve these plans, they need a lot of foreign investments since the aforementioned region was essentially demolished due to the Armenian-Azeri wars and the near three-decade Armenian occupation. He said that Hungary can have a big role in contributing to this development as our country has plenty of historical experience in the field of reconstruction and urban construction. Both Viktor Orbán and Ilham Aliyev expressed their hopes that the European Commission would support these investments and developments. “This is not a regional issue but a pan-European one,” emphasized the Prime Minister.  

The PM added: “both natural gas and electricity would come to Europe from Azerbaijan via Hungary, and so Hungary would become a winner of this new situation as well.”

“Hungary wants to be part of the solution, not the problem” – stated Viktor Orbán. 

Photo: Ilham Aliyev the Azeri President and Viktor Orbán PM (MTI//Benko Vivien Cher)