Hungary will not be pressured into EU sanctions against Russian gas and oil and has no problem paying for the gas in rubles. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said this at a press conference on Wednesday.
It breaks with the EU's attempt to put up a united front against President Vladimir Putin's demand for payment in rubles for Russian gas.
Putin has threatened to stop deliveries of Russian gas to EU countries if they do not pay in rubles.
EU countries are referring to the fact that they have concluded contracts with the Russian gas company Gazprom in euros and dollars.
It is a demand that Putin has made in retaliation for EU sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
The EU has no role in gas purchases
Orban says that if Putin asks for payment in rubles, Hungary will do so.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has previously said that the EU "no role" when it comes to the supply of Russian gas to Hungary. It is a bilateral matter.
The EU Commission is trying to make it a common issue for member states in order to stand stronger against Russia.
The EU is expected to approve a 5th round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday. This means, among other things, that all imports of Russian coal will be stopped.
On Sunday, Orban regained power in Hungary for the fourth time in an election. He has had close ties to Putin for a number of years, and he is accused by the EU of being in the process of dismantling democracy in Hungary.
Has spoken to Putin
He says at the press conference that he spoke to Putin on the phone earlier on Wednesday.
- I suggested to President Putin that he should announce an immediate ceasefire.
Orban says that he has invited Putin to negotiations in Budapest together with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the French President and the German Chancellor.
- The answer was positive, but the Russian President said that he had some conditions, he says.
Orban reiterates at the press conference that it was Russia that started the war by attacking Ukraine, and "this is a position that the EU and Hungary share".
But in the EU there is great skepticism towards Orban. During his reign, he has succeeded in suppressing free media and the courts, and has placed people loyal to him in state organizations.
During the Ukraine crisis, he has opposed any sanctions against Russian gas and oil. At the same time, he has denied that Western military equipment can be transported through Hungary to Ukraine.
Ritzau / Reuters
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