FM Szijjártó: US-Russia agreement bans strikes on energy infrastructure supplying Hungary

The agreement between the United States and Russia, which bans strikes on infrastructure delivering energy to Hungary, is in line with Hungary’s national interests, as it reduces risks to energy security, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Moscow on Wednesday.

The most important question now from Hungary’s perspective is when the war in Ukraine will end and when peace will return to central Europe, Szijjártó said after talks with Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Alexander Novak and Denis Manturov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, according to a ministry statement.

Szijjártó said talks were progressing well, and welcomed that the US and Russia have agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure. Noting that Hungary imports both crude oil and natural gas from Russia, Szijjártó said Ukraine had recently attacked the infrastructure delivering energy to Hungary on multiple occasions, causing a suspension of oil deliveries.

The minister also welcomed a five-point list covering the infrastructure that falls under the 30-day ceasefire, which includes the oil and gas pipelines linking Russia and Hungary. Szijjártó expressed hope that this was only a “partial result” and that the peace talks would be successful. He said that because Russia also had an interest in the talks being successful, there was now “greater hope than ever” for a sustainable ceasefire and a peace agreement.