Will Sanctions Be Extened to Paks? - Hungary FM Responds + Video

"We will protect our energy security," Hungary's minister of trade and foreign affairs said in Luxembourg.

MVM's Paks Nuclear Power Plant building, December 5, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Daniel Kiss)

In reality, “this general exemption has created a situation regarding the Paks investment as if there was no war in Ukraine, and the war did not entail sanctions or economic restrictions,” he said. In a bid to illustrate the prevailing war hysteria", Mr Szijjarto pointed out that during the debates "not only have his colleagues stopped talking about peace, but they've used the word as somewhat of a curse, identifying it with a pro-Russian position". "They falsely portray peace as Ukraine's capitulation, when peace alone can save lives," he said. "The election results in Hungary have also given a clear confirmation and commitment to the government to stand up for peace, and we continue to call for a ceasefire and peace negotiations instead of more weapon deliveries," he stressed. 

He also underlined that one of the main focuses of the Hungary's upcoming EU presidency will be to accelerate the enlargement process of the Western Balkans, as the candidate countries in the region have been waiting for membership for more than fifteen years on average

"The reason they have to wait so long is because some Western European countries are constantly putting obstacles in the way of the enlargement process, citing so-called merits. These same countries, on the other hand, consider these merits to be less important for Ukraine," he said. He called this a mockery of the enlargement policy and underlined that the performance of the Western Balkan countries should be judged realistically, pragmatically and not on ideological-political grounds.

Cover photo: MVM's Paks Nuclear Power Plant building, December 5, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Daniel Kiss)