BUDAPEST, January 24. /TASS/. Hungary wants to have firm guarantees that its economic security will not be jeopardized because of Ukraine’s actions in the energy sector and the European Union’s anti-Russian sanctions, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
In a video address posted on his Facebook page (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist), he said that Budapest informed Brussels about its stance on the EU’s sanctions policy against Moscow.
According to Szijjarto, the situation has been made worse by steps taken by Kiev that harm Central Europe’s energy security. These steps include the termination of Russian gas transit via Ukraine and the recent drone attack on a compressor station feeding gas to the TurkStream pipeline.
"The situation forced us to hit the brakes and realize that it is impossible to simultaneously impose sanctions that hurt Hungary while tolerating Ukraine’s actions that undermine Central Europe’s energy security," the top Hungarian diplomat said.
EU foreign ministers will consider extending sanctions against Russia for another six months at their meeting in Brussels on January 27. "We want to have clear answers to our questions and international guarantees so that we can make a responsible decision at the ministerial meeting on Monday. Hungary’s position is clear: the interests of the Hungarian people, the interests of the Hungarian economy and Hungary’s energy security need to be protected," Szijjarto stressed.