Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters on Wednesday his government was prepared to pay for Russian gas in rubles if Russia asks it to, breaking ranks with the rest of the European Union’s steady slide toward a US-style Russian gas boycott.
Late last month, the European Union announced it would jointly buy and store gas, hydrogen and liquified natural gas as the bloc moves to reduce its dependence on petroleum products imported from Russia, which constitute 45% of Europe’s gas imports and 25% of its oil imports.
However, the next bills on existing gas deals are due in a matter of weeks.
The move comes amid heavy pressure from Washington for nations around the globe to adopt measures in line with its own boycott of Russian petroleum products, taken in response to the launching of Russia's special operation in Ukraine on February 24. The move is credited with triggering a sharp spike in gasoline prices in the US that is driving inflation above its already record-high levels.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has rejected the EU’s approach, saying the bloc has “no role” to play in its gas supply deal with Russia, which was negotiated between Hungary’s state-owned gas firm MVM and Russia’s Gazprom.
“We will in no way allow anyone with the Hungarian people to pay the price of the war, so we will not contribute to sanctioning natural gas and petroleum deliveries,” Szijjarto said in a March 31 statement.
In September 2021, Budapest and Moscow signed two long-term contracts for gas deliveries to the Central European nation, supplying 4.5 billion cubic meters of fuel per year for 15 years, sent through pipelines in Serbia and Austria.
Earlier this week, Orban won a fourth consecutive four-year term in office, beating out a coalition of opposition parties.