Croatia’s reaction to FM Szijjártó’s words: “If you visit Moscow more often than Brussels or Zagreb, you lose the moral high ground”
“If you visit Moscow more often than Brussels or Zagreb, you lose the moral high ground to accuse others of profiteering,” Croatia’s Minister of Economy wrote on social media site X, reacting to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s accusations made a few days ago.
The European Union and the United States have been pressing member states to halt imports of Russian oil and gas. One alternative would be to rely on the Adriatic pipeline, but Budapest insists the system cannot provide secure supplies for Hungary and Slovakia in its current state. Speaking in New York, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó sharply criticised Croatia, accusing it of charging a “war surcharge” and exploiting Hungary’s vulnerable position.
- Background: “The Croats are profiteering from the war” – Hungary’s Szijjártó slams neighbouring Croatia
Croatia rejects Szijjártó’s statements
We contacted Croatian officials to ask if they would like to comment on Szijjártó’s remarks. We received the following answer:
“JANAF [Croatia’s crude oil transportation company – ed.] rejects the malicious, untrue and hypocritical statements of Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. The fact is that JANAF is technically ready, reliable and fully capable of covering the annual crude oil needs of MOL’s Central European refineries, which has been confirmed by recent tests.”
According to them, “When it comes to transportation costs, JANAF defines prices in accordance with applicable laws and internal acts and applies a clearly defined tariff calculation methodology that the Hungarian side is familiar with and that applies to all JANAF partners, namely leading global traders and regional vertically integrated oil companies”.
The letter reads, “The tariff calculation methodology has undergone additional verification by international consultants who study the methodologies of numerous world oil pipelines. After their analysis, we received in 2024 an unequivocal confirmation that our methodology treats all partners equally and is an example of the best world practice, and the price depends predominantly on the utilisation of the oil pipeline, and on this occasion, we call on the MOL Group to finally start transporting larger quantities of oil”.
It’s important to note that “other partners who have refineries on the oil pipeline route, transport five times more oil annually than the MOL Group, although their domestic markets have much lower demand for derivatives”.
“If anyone is profiting from the current situation, it is certainly not Croatia, but Hungary, which continuously imports Russian oil, while Croatia is systematically strengthening the diversification of supply and energy sources. We are a responsible and transparent partner to all our European neighbours and expect from them an open dialogue based on facts and mutual respect, without subversion and lies,” the letter concludes.
The Croatian Minister of Economy’s words
Croatia’s Minister of Economy, Ante Šušnjar, reacted on social media site X:
“If you visit Moscow more often than Brussels or Zagreb, you lose the moral high ground to accuse others of profiteering,” he wrote. “All EU members are refusing to fund Russia’s war – it’s time Hungary does the same. Croatia is a reliable partner to all its allies -including our friends and neighbours in Hungary,” Šušnjar continued.
If you visit Moscow more often than Brussels or Zagreb, you lose the moral high ground to accuse others of profiteering.
— Ante Šušnjar (@susnjar_a) September 27, 2025
All EU members are refusing to fund Russia’s war – it’s time Hungary does the same.
Croatia is a reliable partner to all its allies -including our friends and… pic.twitter.com/5TFkPEzkHi
At the end of his post, the minister invited Foreign Minister Szijjártó to “visit Zagreb instead of Moscow and see for himself the capacity of our infrastructure”.
All it takes is one sentence as made by the Croatian minister put the corrupt Russian satellite Fidesz government in its’ place. Hungarians if you desire to continue being a nation of losers having your money stolen from you day after day you can vote for them again in April
Calling people loosers, because they consume news other then what the CIA made up is NOT a very convincing start for an argument, my man.
In fact, the Croats’ “One sentence” is a damn paragraph, because it is an obvious scramble for excuses. The fact, that you are focusing on the fact, that it is a single sentence, rather then the fact that it is an overtly overcomplicated, inconsistent slop so lengthy, you fall asleep while reading it PROOVES, that you are disingenuous.
Go ahead. Vote for Fidesz again and be a loser. I visit Hungary and what I see from the moment of my taxi ride in through a gauntlet of propaganda billboards are idiots who are led by the nose with nationalistic propaganda. Let them pick your pockets. Let your public services go down the toilet. Let them charge you the highest VAT tax in the world sending Hungarians to shop outside the country. Go ahead and send your country down the hole of a Russian toilet.
Not exactly a convincing, or even unconvincing, denial of profiteering, huh Croatia! In fact, not a denial at all.
Just the usual, tired old tropes about Russia.
Seems you can’t stub your toe going to the bathroom at night without it being a conspiracy by Putin.
If only Hungary would get with the program and declare we want a third world war, preferably a nuclear one, the Croats would happily give us their gas. They’d still profiteer off of it, like they price-gouge the few tourists they still get in summertime, but they wouldn’t accuse us of being Putin’s bedmates.
I’m just waiting for Christopher Steele to emerge from whatever sewer he’s in and produce a “pee dossier” on Orban.
Firstly you are not Hungarian, so save us this Bulls#it.
Secondly, what do you consume so that you generate such idiotness like this?!
Really wondering!
Just because you phonetically translated Rajesh’s name in Big Bang Theory to “Hungarian”, doesn’t make you Hungarian either, Raj.
And while the guy is a foreigner, he is at least not a brainwashed puppet of the CIA, which is looking at your comment, more then what one can say about you.