He emphasized that for the first time in the history of the Organization of Turkic States, Hungary is hosting one of its summits.
Viktor Orban pointed out that Hungary has been living next to a war for three years now, and the Hungarian economy has suffered over 20 billion euros in losses due to the war and sanctions. He said the European Union chose to expand the war rather than isolate it,and backed war over peace, causing serious damage.
The European economy is also in a difficult situation because the war and the sanctions have destroyed the strategic foundations of what had been successful economic growth,
PM Orban continued, adding that the ship of the European economy has to be navigated without a compass, which has led to a continuous energy crisis. "We pay three to four times more for gas and electricity in Europe than in America, which makes it impossible to build a competitive economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said, Hungary fought to be able to maintain energy relations with Russia, to which the Ukrainians responded by turning off the Ukrainian pipeline. "It was after this that we made an agreement with our Turkic friends on supplying Hungary from the south," he recalled.
Viktor Orban said Hungary appreciated that Azerbaijan has enabled Hungarian energy group MVM and oil and gas company MOL to acquire shares in its gas fields and pipelines. Hungary’s stake in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas fields ensures that it has hundreds of millions of cubic meters of gas and hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a year on the international energy market, which is crucial both economically and mentally.
Hungary and Azerbaijan have also agreed to expand their cooperation to the area of renewable energy, PM Orban said. The talks also covered economic matters and the issue of peace, he said adding that they have always agreed that the war could only be resolved through negotiations, not on the battlefield.
Viktor Orban congratulated Ilham Aliyev on finalizing the text of an Azerbaijan-Armenia peace agreement. He said the agreement is a good example of how a war could be resolved through diplomacy.
When it comes to peace, every bit of success is hugely important for Hungary in today’s turbulent international situation,
PM Orban underlined.
Hungary–Azerbaijan Relations Are Progressing Successfully
Hungarian-Azerbaijani relations are thriving. It is clear that Hungary and Azerbaijan are friendly nations, said the Azerbaijani president after meeting with Viktor Orban.
