Putin: Hungary ‘reliable partner’ in Russian gas transit deliveries
Hungary has continued to prove that it is a reliable partner when it comes to transit deliveries of Russian natural gas, President Vladimir Putin said after meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for talks in Moscow on Tuesday.
Energy plays an important role in Russian-Hungarian economic relations, Putin noted at a joint press conference after the meeting. He said
Russia had been supplying energy to Hungary for many years without interruption, covering 55 percent of its oil consumption and 80 percent of its gas consumption.
Putin noted that Russia supplied gas to Hungary under a long-term agreement and that the bilateral agreement has been extended until 2036.
“Russia is open to further cooperation,” he added.
Putin: Hungary ‘important partner’ of Russia in Europe
Hungary is “an important partner” of Russia in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
At a joint press conference afterwards, Putin said that notwithstanding the pandemic, bilateral trade turnover increased by 30 percent to 5.5 billion dollars in the first 11 months of last year, with investments from both sides worth one billion dollars.
The Russian-Hungarian inter-governmental committee for economic cooperation is working effectively and producing results, Putin said.
Orbán: Talks on increasing Russian gas deliveries to go ahead
Substantive talks on increasing the amount of Russian long-term gas deliveries to Hungary by one billion cubic metres a year can move forward, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after talks with President Putin.
As the two countries’ long-term gas supply agreement will gain in importance in the future, volume should be increased rather than reduced, he said.
Concerning the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant, Orbán noted preparations for the project have entered the final phase, and as soon as the last permit is obtained “the next phase of implementation will automatically start, enabling us Hungarians to take the decisive step towards becoming independent in terms of electricity supply,” Orban said.
- read also from today: PM Orbán meets with President Putin in Moscow
Orbán: Moscow visit ‘peace mission’
“A peace mission” is how Prime Minister Viktor Orbán characterised his visit to Moscow for talks on Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin, saying the European Union was “united”, and not a single European leader wanted a conflict with Russia.
“This is especially true of central Europe,” Orbán said after talks with Putin.
“We can see from history that in times of conflict between East and West, central Europe always lost out,” he said, adding that the Cold War period “brought us great bitterness and suffering”.
Hungarians and central Europeans more broadly have an interest in reducing tensions between East and West and to prevent a return to the Cold War, the prime minister said, adding that this required negotiations and dialogue. Orbán welcomed the “dialogue under way between Russia and our Western allies”.
“What we can offer is the Hungarian model,”
he said. Hungary, he noted, is a member of both NATO and the European Union while enjoying “excellent ties” with Russia based on mutual respect.
UPDATE
Hungary has continued to prove that it is a reliable partner when it comes to transit deliveries of Russian natural gas, President Vladimir Putin said after meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for talks in Moscow on Tuesday. Read details HERE.
Source: MTI
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