Hungary appealed to the United States of America with a request to lift the sanctions against Gazprom of the Russian Federation, which relate to payments for natural gas. In Budapest, they believe that they can negatively affect some US allies.
Points of attention
- Hungary appeals to the US to lift sanctions on Gazprom to pay for Russian gas without restrictions and ensure energy security.
- The relationship between Hungary, Russia, and the USA is under scrutiny due to the country's heavy reliance on Russian energy imports.
- The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasizes the importance of Russian energy resources for Hungary's energy security.
- With pressure mounting to diversify energy sources away from Russian energy, Hungary seeks solutions to maintain payment for gas imports.
- Hungary receives a significant portion of its gas imports from Russia, highlighting the need for rapid diversification to enhance energy security.
Hungary wants to pay without restrictions for Russian gas
This was stated by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Sijarto.
Yesterday, we submitted our request to the relevant US authorities, which calls for Gazprombank to be exempted from sanctions when it comes to payments for natural gas.
Peter Sijarto
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary
It is noted that at the briefing, Sijarto also quoted the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who said that he is "ready to consult with allies for whom the sanctions (against Gazprom, — ed.) have caused problems."
At the same time, the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said that any exemption would be similar to those granted to other Russian banks that process payments for Russian uranium purchased by the United States.
According to Sijarto, he will go to Washington on Wednesday, but did not reveal the details of the future negotiations.
The news agency notes that the Hungarian minister also went to Moscow for talks with the Russian energy minister. At the end of the meeting, Szijarto assured that Budapest is working on solutions that will allow payment for Russian gas after the introduction of sanctions against Gazprombank.
Hungary gets about two-thirds of its gas imports from Russia, but pressure is mounting on the country, along with some of its neighbors, to diversify more quickly from Russian energy after Moscow invades Ukraine in 2022. Hungary receives 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia under a 15-year agreement signed in 2021.
Sijarto praised Russian gas and oil
On December 2, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijarto, after meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Novak in Moscow, emphasized the crucial role of Russian energy resources in Hungary's energy security.
Zoltan Kovacs, the spokesman of the Hungarian government, wrote about this on the X social network.
The post says that after meetings with Novak and heads of Russian energy companies in Moscow, Szijarto emphasized the crucial role of Russian oil, gas and nuclear fuel in Hungary's energy security.
