17 February 2015, Budapest

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to publicly thank the President of Russia, Mr Putin, for his visit to our country. This is a great honour for Hungary. We have had an important, successful and – as you may have noticed –long meeting. I could sum up today’s events by saying that Hungary and Russia have strengthened their economic cooperation. We have entered into agreements which serve Hungary’s best interests; they serve them not only well, but very well. I have made it clear: Hungary’s view is that it needs Russia. For Hungarians it is important for Russia to be open to Hungarian products, and Hungary has a vested interest in having safe and reliable access to Russian energy at a reasonable price. We have concluded that the strengthening of economic relations is in the best interests of both parties. We have also surveyed the relations between our two countries and have found them to rest on foundations of mutual respect, and we shall therefore seek out opportunities for cooperation and shall strive to develop good relations in the future.

I am personally convinced that cooperation and good relations are not only in Hungary’s best interests; they are also in the best interests of the whole of Europe. I am convinced that relations between the European Union and Russia must be settled within the shortest time possible. These relations will have to be resolved reasonably, and Hungary will stand by a reasonable solution, a reasonable settlement. We take the view that excluding Russia from Europe is not reasonable. Security in the region cannot be achieved at the expense of Russia; security in the region can only be achieved in cooperation with Russia. We are therefore convinced that we must sit down and talk, and talk, and talk. The ceasefire agreement recently signed in Minsk – which in addition to the ceasefire itself discusses a number of other important issues for resolution of the conflict – serves as a good basis for such a settlement. We are convinced that peace and Eurasian economic cooperation can form the core of a satisfactory resolution. Hungary welcomes the commitment of France and Germany to this process, and Hungary also supports this solution in the short, medium and long term. We are convinced that European unity may be forged through peace and Eurasian economic cooperation. I have seen that before President Putin’s visit there was much speculation as to whether Hungary posed some sort of threat to Europe’s unity. There is no need for such concern. Hungary poses no threat to European unity, but it is important that everyone in Europe strives to achieve peace – which means not merely putting an end to war, but also building a future. I am convinced that European unity can and must be cemented in parallel with cooperation with Russia.

We have covered the issue of Ukraine as it is one of our neighbouring countries. I have told President Putin that we are in favour of peace and are optimistic about the ceasefire, and that we sincerely hope that it can also be sustained in the long run. The European Union itself was established to prevent further wars in Europe. Therefore our generation has faith in European unity. In addition to this, we Hungarians have another 200,000 arguments in favour of peace in Ukraine.

We have discussed economic questions. Naturally, we covered the gas supply agreement concluded in 1996, which will expire this year. We have succeeded in resolving this problem, and there are now only some technical issues to be settled; a political accord has been reached. Within the boundaries of the current agreement, in the future we have the possibility of using the gas that we have not used so far, and of paying for it as and when we eventually use it. This means that with this agreement we have firmly secured energy supply for Hungarian families and have also guaranteed the operation of Hungarian industry. In the context of economic cooperation, we have concluded that the sanctions have been harmful, while the measures in response have likewise done a great deal of damage. Naturally we acknowledge and respect the decision made on sanctions and also the measures adopted in response, but it is our common goal to reinforce economic cooperation between our two countries; with a view to this, a number of specific agreements have been covered.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am convinced that peace is not merely the lack of conflict, but the non-violent path to conflict resolution. We therefore sincerely trust that we shall be able to resolve the existing differences between Russia and the European Union through peaceful means.

Thank you for your attention.

(Prime Minister's Office)