Mainland Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. Szijjarto’s comments come as President Vladimir Putin says he believes the West will not be able to wean itself off Russian oil and gas for several years. The EU has sought to impose a total ban on Russian crude in a bid to cripple Putin’s war machine over the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine. The bloc finally agreed late last month on a partial oil embargo on the long-delayed sixth package of sanctions against Russia. The compromise will provide for a ban on Russian oil being imported into the bloc by sea, with the exception of imports delivered via pipelines following Hungarian opposition. Speaking to CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on the sidelines of the OECD Cabinet Summit in Paris, France, on Thursday, Szijjarto said: themselves. “ “We have to have a very clear position on the war, which we have, we condemn Russia for this military attack. We stand by Ukraine. But we must also take into account the reality,” he added. Szijjarto spoke of his frustration that Hungary was portrayed as a country reluctant to punish Russia’s war in Ukraine, noting that Russia currently supplies 65% of Hungary’s oil and 85% of its natural gas supplies. of. Hungary’s foreign minister says Russia currently supplies 65% of the country’s oil demand and 85% of its gas supplies. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images He added that the lack of alternative infrastructure meant that it was not possible for the country to quickly reduce its dependence on Russian energy sources. Shortly after the EU agreed on a sixth package of sanctions last month, Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Callas called on the bloc to go even further and discuss the prospect of a Russian gas embargo in the seventh round of measures. Austrian Chancellor Carl Nehamer abruptly rejected the idea, saying it would not be discussed. When asked by Hungarian Szijjarto about the prospect of the EU targeting Russian gas exports in the next round of sanctions, he replied: “No, it is impossible.” “If you can not import gas from Russia, then the country will stop. [the] The economy stops, we can not heat the houses, we can not run the economy. “Our question is who can offer a solution?” He added.
Russia will not concrete its oil wells
Putin said on Thursday that Russia would not “concrete over its oil wells” as long as the West remained dependent on its energy sources, according to comments translated by the BBC. “The volume of oil is falling in the world market, prices are rising,” he said. “Companies’ profits are rising.”
