Hungary and Slovakia agree to boycott EU's move to stop buying Russian gas and oil
Photo: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó (Getty Images)
Hungary and Slovakia will oppose the termination of gas, oil, and nuclear fuel purchases from Russia. Both countries plan to vote against this European Commission proposal in Luxembourg on June 16, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Facebook.
According to Szijjártó, he discussed the matter with Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár, and they coordinated the positions of Hungary and Slovakia regarding the European Commission’s initiative. Both sides concluded that such plans represent a "blatant violation of sovereignty" for their countries.
"We agreed that we cannot accept such a gross violation of our sovereignty. The shaping of national energy policy is a matter of sovereignty, and no one from outside can interfere in it, not for Brussels, not for Kyiv. We are not willing to trade our current energy sources for more expensive and less predictable ones," Szijjártó stated.
He promised that the Hungarian delegation in Luxembourg would "protect Hungarian families" from rising utility costs. He also described the potential termination of Russian oil and gas imports as "blackmail by Volodymyr Zelenskyy."
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Hungarian outlet Válasz Online that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government was interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs and exploiting the war for political purposes ahead of the elections.
In response, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács accused the Ukrainian president of "openly campaigning for the Hungarian opposition." He also shared a statement by Szijjártó claiming that Zelenskyy allegedly "wants a puppet government in Hungary that would send Hungarian money to Ukraine."
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by criticizing Hungary. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that Budapest should stop "looking for imaginary enemies."
