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US committed to resolving Ukraine conflict — Hungary’s top diplomat

"US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the entire US administration along with US President Donald Trump are doing everything possible to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible," Peter Szijiarto said

BUDAPEST, February 20. /TASS/. The new US administration is firmly determined to achieve a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

According to the Hungarian top diplomat, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed this to him during their meeting in Washington earlier this week.

"Scott Bessent has confirmed that the entire [US] administration along with [US President] Donald Trump are doing everything possible to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible," Szijiarto said in an interview with Hungarian TV channel M1.

"This is very good news for Hungary, as it has encountered problems over the last three years directly due to this conflict [in Ukraine]," he stated.

According to previous reports, Szijiarto met with Bessent in Washington to discuss the possibility of lifting some of the anti-Russian sanctions in the energy sector as well as to talk about US-Hungarian economic relations.

About US sanctions

The sanctions imposed by ex-US President Joe Biden on Russian energy have been tough on Hungary, which continues to import most of its oil and natural gas from Russia and is building the Paks-2 NPP in cooperation with Russian company Rosatom.

In late November 2024, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s Gazprombank through which Hungary paid for Russian oil and gas. Moscow and Budapest had to look for alternative options for payment. The top Hungarian diplomat said back then that Hungary viewed the US sanctions against Gazprombank not merely as an unfriendly step but as "political revenge" from the Biden administration against a number of Central and Eastern European countries.

On January 10, 2025, the Biden administration announced a large-scale package of sanctions against the Russian oil and gas sector, covering Russian companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, Gazprom's Portovaya and the Novatek-led Vysotsk LNG facilities. Moreover, 183 tankers, traders, oilfield service firms, heads of a number of oil companies, and representatives of the Russian Energy Ministry’s leadership were blacklisted.

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