“However, at the same time, they would ban Russian oil imports to Europe with a very short deadline; in the case of Hungary this would be from the end of next year,”
– he added.
Péter Szijjártó emphasized that Hungary’s energy supply is currently stable and secured, but this sanctions package would entirely destroy that, eliminating the supply of oil that is necessary for our economy’s smooth functioning.
“This is not a question of political will, nor intentions nor time – this is simply an issue of our physical, geographic, and infrastructural reality,”
– he summarized.
The Minister pointed out that Hungary is able to buy the necessary amount of crude oil from Russia; we can do this through our existing pipeline and, with our existing technology, we can process Russian crude oil exclusively.
To conclude, he emphasized that the government could not responsibly approve this sanctions package in its current form. In order for them to be able to support these measures, the embargo should not apply to oil transported through the pipelines.