Hungary Will Never Agree to Sanction Russia's Rosatom, Gazprom, Foreign Minister Says
05:00 GMT 24.09.2022 (Updated: 07:06 GMT 24.09.2022)
© AP Photo / Virginia Mayo
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UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Hungary will never agree to add Russian energy firms Rosatom and Gazprom to the EU sanctions list, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Sputnik on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
"We will never agree with Rosatom or Gazprom being put on a sanction list, and we would never agree any entity to be put on a sanction list which is important for us from the perspective of the supply of energy," Szijjarto said.
In September 2021, Hungary and Gazprom struck a deal involving supplies of 4.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually for the next 15 years. The contract prompted an outcry among Western nations, while Kiev claimed that it undermined Ukraine's status as a transit country. In response, Budapest said that Hungary is a sovereign country and decides on its own where to buy gas and how to have it delivered.
In late August, Szijjarto said that Budapest came to an agreement with Gazprom on the supply of additional 5.8 million cubic meters of gas daily starting from September 1.
In late August, Szijjarto said that Budapest came to an agreement with Gazprom on the supply of additional 5.8 million cubic meters of gas daily starting from September 1.
European Union officials have said they will soon roll out a new package of sanctions against Russia.
EU countries are considering the possibility of lifting the veto on the votes concerning Russia, but Hungary will not support this decision, Peter Szijjarto said.
"Yeah, they want to do it, but we don't agree. We don't agree. I mean, our colleagues usually speak about the respect towards European treaties, which we agree. The European treaties say very clearly that on the field of foreign and security policy, unanimity is required, and we stick to it," Szijjarto said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, commenting on the possibility of the EU abolishing the right of veto.
The conflict in Ukraine cannot be resolved without negotiations between Russia and the United States, Szijjarto added.
"I do believe that without an American-Russian agreement, without a Russian-American discussion this situation will not be resolved, whether we like it or not," Szijjarto said. "I see that in order to close this crazy situation as soon as possible, American-Russian discussions are needed."
"I do believe that without an American-Russian agreement, without a Russian-American discussion this situation will not be resolved, whether we like it or not," Szijjarto said. "I see that in order to close this crazy situation as soon as possible, American-Russian discussions are needed."
23 September 2022, 02:31 GMT
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that he hoped the high-level United Nations General Assembly debate would help resolve the crisis in Ukraine, but the situation became worse than it was a week ago.
"I regret it’s Friday already because when I came on Monday I had a hope that the General Assembly would bring some good news because I still believe that there is no more appropriate place to discuss issues of peace than in UN, but now it’s Friday and the situation is worse than it was on Monday," Szijjarto said.
However, Szijjarto mentioned that NATO member states have excluded the idea of deploying troops to Ukraine amid Russia's special military operation, and he hopes this decision remains in place.
According to Peter Szijjarto, the risks of escalation between the NATO military alliance and Russia will remain for as long as the crisis in Ukraine continues.
"You asked me whether the danger of escalation is there. Of course. I mean as long as there is war, the danger of escalation is there," Szijjarto said.
Hungary views preventing a direct conflict between NATO and Russia as a topmost priority, Peter Szijjarto added.
"Well, when you ask me what’s the most important duty now, exactly this: To avoid any kind of direct conflict between NATO and Russia because this would lead to somewhere neither of us wanna go," Szijjarto said. "Whenever we are sitting together with NATO colleagues this is always our number one issue - to avoid a conflict between NATO and Russia."
"Well, when you ask me what’s the most important duty now, exactly this: To avoid any kind of direct conflict between NATO and Russia because this would lead to somewhere neither of us wanna go," Szijjarto said. "Whenever we are sitting together with NATO colleagues this is always our number one issue - to avoid a conflict between NATO and Russia."
Sanctions against Russia deal serious harm to Europe, with the rise of inflation and the surge of food and fuel prices, Szijjarto said.
"If a sanction is more painful to you, yourself, than to the targeted entity, then it's useless. And if you look at the sanctions, so far, what we have introduced, and if we get away from politics, ideology, anything, just look at it in a professional way, as a matter of physics and mathematics. Then, obviously, these sanctions are extremely harmful to Europe. It cannot be, it cannot be doubted they are extremely harmful to Europe because the prices are skyrocketing in Europe, when it comes to commodities, food, utility, gas, inflation is skyrocketing," Szijjarto said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
"If a sanction is more painful to you, yourself, than to the targeted entity, then it's useless. And if you look at the sanctions, so far, what we have introduced, and if we get away from politics, ideology, anything, just look at it in a professional way, as a matter of physics and mathematics. Then, obviously, these sanctions are extremely harmful to Europe. It cannot be, it cannot be doubted they are extremely harmful to Europe because the prices are skyrocketing in Europe, when it comes to commodities, food, utility, gas, inflation is skyrocketing," Szijjarto said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Western countries responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Moscow while also ramping up their military support for Kiev.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, have discussed bilateral energy cooperation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
The sides exchanged views on several issues of UN operations and current international problems of mutual interest, the statement read.
