“Hungary is maintaining pragmatic and rational cooperation with Russia in view of the fact that 85 percent of our natural gas imports are derived from there”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at an impromptu press conference prior to a summit of the Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists in Budapest on Wednesday.

“Claims that cooperation between the two countries is tight are a good tool for creating political scandal, but what gas would Hungarian industry be operating with today and what would people be using to heat their homes had the gas purchasing agreement expired at the end of 2015?”, Mr. Szijjártó asked.

According to the Minister, Western European countries are maintaining significantly tighter relations with Russia, for instance at last year’s economic forum in St. Petersburg “more people spoke German than Russian”. “Interestingly, the voices of criticism that Hungary was subjected to during Vladimir Putin’s visit went mute when the German Chancellor visited Moscow on Tuesday or when other EU leaders visit Russia”, he pointed out.

“The North Stream gas pipeline is not being built by Hungary and Gazprom, but by German, French, Italian and perhaps Austrian companies”, he said. This criticism does not emerge at such times.

According to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, large-scale measures are required to once again make the European Union the most competitive economic and political integration in the world. In reaction to protests by the “Momentum Movement”, Mr. Szijjártó said he could “reassure them” that Hungary’s place was in Europe, it is part of the European Union and a member of NATO, but nobody can dispute the fact that a pragmatic, balanced and composed cooperation must be maintained with Russia, and there is nothing more to it than that.

Referring to his previous statement in Poland, Mr. Szijjártó declared that Russia does not represent a direct security risk to Hungary, adding that in his opinion Moscow can have absolutely no interest in committing aggression against a NATO member state, but he accepts that Poland and the Baltic States have a different viewpoint on the issue.

With reference to a statement by French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron in which he compared Marine Le Pen to Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, Mr. Szijjártó said it was unfair and dishonourable to spread lies about the leader of another country during a domestic political campaign. “Hungary is a democracy and the role played by the current Hungarian Prime Minister in toppling the dictatorship can never be forgotten”, he declared.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)