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Embargo on Russian gas import to ruin European economy — Hungary’s Orban

The Hungarian government is firmly against banning gas supplies from Russia, Viktor Orban underscored

VIENNA, June 10. /TASS/. An embargo on Russian gas import to the European Union will have a devastating effect on the economy, and not only Hungarian, but the European one in general, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on the Kossuth radio station on Friday.

Asked about the EU’s ongoing debate on the possibility of banning gas supplies from Russia he said that his government was firmly against this step.

"Not that Hungary has no alternative. This may ruin the whole of Europe," Orban explained. He expressed the certainty that in discussing this issue within the EU "common sense will prevail."

He stressed that the events in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia had already caused what he described as "wartime inflation, which is different from inflation in a normal situation" throughout Europe.

"As long as there is a war on, there will be inflation. Peace is the only way to stop wartime inflation," he said.

Orban also said that his government was working on a budget for next year with due regard for the "consequences of the war" and was now forced to take additional measures "to protect Hungarian families and curb utility bills."

On Friday, a government decree on measures to support 100,000 small businesses will be issued. A cap on gasoline prices will remain, but for how long it will last depends only on the situation in Ukraine, Orban noted.