Steven N.
There’s no chance of Hungary joining the energy sanctions imposed by the United States, because Hungary still needs the gas and oil that comes from Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (pictured) said on Wednesday.
I made it clear that we cannot follow the example of the United States. They imposed sanctions on these products yesterday, but this would be an unbearable burden for Hungary to bear. So there is be no question of us joining these sanctions, as we still need gas and oil that comes from Russia.
-the Prime Minister said in a video uploaded to his Facebook page.
He said there had been “major diplomatic activity” across Europe this week, with prime ministers from Central Europe meeting in London on Tuesday, talks with the president of the European Council on Wednesday, and EU prime ministers meeting in Paris on Thursday.
He stressed that peace was at the heart of their efforts, but that they should also devote at least as much energy to the economic consequences of their actions. He said the economic consequences of the sanctions imposed because of the war were severe, but if sanctions were imposed on oil and gas that Europe gets from Russia, the consequences would be even more severe.
Hungary would be disproportionately burdened in this case, said the Prime Minister, as 85% of Hungarian households use natural gas, and 85% of all natural gas consumed in Hungary comes from Russia. Likewise, 64% of fuel used in Hungary comes from Russian oil. [Magyar Hang]
