MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Hungary’s leadership remains focused on the interests of its nation, while the country's economy would suffer if energy cooperation with Russia were to abruptly be cut off, which is why the reshuffle in Budapest "is not catastrophic" for Moscow, political analyst Dmitry Yelovsky told TASS.
The opposition Tisza party has won the Hungarian elections. Its leader Peter Magyar has said that he would restore Hungary’s full membership in the European Union and NATO.
"For Russia, the results of the Hungarian elections are not catastrophic. Magyar is indeed committed to rapprochement with the EU, but he, same as [Viktor] Orban, remains a nationally oriented politician who puts Hungarian interests first. Moreover, any drastic steps to sever energy cooperation with Russia would hit the Hungarian economy, which would inevitably return some voters to Orban or his political heirs," Yelovsky said.
However, this could create some difficulties for Russia: at least for a time, Budapest’s dissenting opinion would be pushed to the sidelines within the EU, he added.