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Putin, Orban to meet in Moscow on Friday to discuss energy, Ukraine — newspaper

According to Viktor Orban, he intends to ensure that Hungary's energy supply is secured for the winter and for the following year

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russia's President Vladimir Putin Valery Sharifulin/POOL/TASS

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russia's President Vladimir Putin

© Valery Sharifulin/POOL/TASS

BUDAPEST, November 28. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on November 28 to discuss resolving the Ukraine conflict and energy supplies.

"Today we will hold talks with the Russian president. <...> I am going there to ensure that Hungary's energy supply is secured for the winter and for the following year, at an affordable price," Magyar Nemzet newspaper quoted the Hungarian prime minister as saying. Orban added that they will "hardly avoid" discussing efforts toward peace in Ukraine.

Thanks to the "access to cheap Russian oil and gas," Hungary has "the lowest energy prices in Europe," he emphasized.

On October 22, the US Department of the Treasury included Russian oil majors Rosneft, Lukoil, and their subsidiaries in a new package of anti-Russian sanctions, which took full effect on November 21. The United States believes the restrictions it has imposed will serve as a lever of pressure on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. The Hungarian government noted that new US sanctions against Russian oil and gas companies could harm the interests of the country, which continues to receive the bulk of its energy supplies from Russia under long-term contracts.

On November 7, at a meeting in Washington, Orban convinced US President Donald Trump of the need to grant Hungary an exemption from sanctions that could hinder supplies through the Druzhba oil pipeline and the TurkStream gas pipeline.

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