Hungary rejects abandoning Russian energy despite US pressure

Hungary will not wean itself off Russian energy supplies, despite the White House’s demand for NATO allies to stop buying Russian oil, the country’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has stated.

He made the statement during an interview on the sidelines of the 80th annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the US, Caliber.Az reports per The Guardian.

The interview also heard Szijjártó addressing that Trump’s call for Europe to stop importing Russian oil, which helps finance Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Szijjártó added that he “understood” Trump’s approach.

He called Western European officials “fanatics” and said it was “totally impossible to carry out a fact-based, rational dialogue based on common sense”.

But while relations with Brussels remain fraught, the relationship with the US has improved significantly, he said, adding that Hungary was the “only European government crossing fingers for [Trump’s] victory”.

“The US is a friend now,” he said. “So having the American president as your friend is totally different compared to when they put pressure on you, regardless of what is coming from Brussels is very, very severe.”

By Khagan Isayev