"Hungary has a vested interest in preserving a stable, predictable and fair cooperation with Russia in certain areas, and the government rejects all forms of pressure aimed to force Hungary to stop all cooperation with Russia," the ministry cited Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto as saying after a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Skopje. It remains a national interest to maintain bilateral cooperation in certain areas, he said.
We pursue foreign policy on the basis of national interests and will not accept any pressurizing from the outside, therefore we will cooperate with Russia in securing Hungary’s energy supply in the upcoming period just like before,
he stressed. He welcomed the progress of the expansion project at the Paks nuclear power station, saying that the construction of 2.7 kms of a slurry wall had been completed at record speed, making it possible to continue with ground works.
It remains a realistic goal to hold the so-called first concrete pouring ceremony next year and the new blocks could be connected to the system in the early 2030s,
he highlighted.
Peter Szijjarto said Segey Lavrov had assured him that Russia and Russian companies would fulfill their contractual obligations and supply natural gas and crude oil according to schedule. "Moreover, Sergey Lavrov assured me that, despite the hostile Bulgarian move, Gazprom will fulfill the natural gas deliveries to Hungary according to the contract and schedule," he underlined.
As a result, Hungary’s natural gas supplies will remain to be guaranteed, despite Bulgarians imposing extra tax on natural gas delivered to Hungary, Serbia and North Macedonia via Bulgaria,
he said. Hungary's foreign minister also said that he had told his Russian counterpart that Hungary would continue to support peace in Ukraine. "It is important to us that arms should not be fired in our region but peace talks should be started (…) in every international organization, Hungary stands up for keeping the channels of communication open, and for ceasefire and the start of peace talks as soon as possible," he said.
In the photo released by the Russian foreign ministry's press service, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) meet at Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Skopje on November 30, 2023 (Photo: MTI/EPA/Russian foreign ministry's press service)
