BUDAPEST, March 20. /TASS/. While EU politicians advocate for a ban on Russian oil and gas, European companies are quietly signing energy supply agreements with Russian partners, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asserted during a press briefing following the EU summit in Brussels.
The Prime Minister noted that the global energy crisis is mounting, yet EU leaders — as the recent meeting demonstrated - are failing to take necessary action and continue to insist on severing ties with Russia.
"Instead of developing a strategy to solve this problem, everyone is busy with their own business behind the scenes, amid anti-Russian rhetoric, concluding agreements with Russian energy suppliers that will allow European states to import significant quantities of Russian energy," Orban said. His press conference was broadcast by the M1 television channel.
Orban stressed that, unlike other countries, "Hungary is doing this openly and considers it the right policy."
The Hungarian government repeatedly advocated for continued oil and gas supplies from Russia, especially given the shortages of raw materials and various fuels resulting from the war in the Middle East. Budapest called on Brussels to drop sanctions against Russian energy companies and, following the example of the United States, to begin by lifting the ban on seaborne oil transportation from Russia.