By halting the transit of crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia, Ukraine is blackmailing the countries that consistently speak out in favour of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday.
Speaking at a government press briefing, Gergely Gulyás said Ukraine’s “blackmail” of Hungary and Slovakia for their pro-peace positions was “unfair” and in violation of its agreements with the European Union.
He said this posed a serious danger to the security of Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy supply. “There’s no need to panic right now because our reserves are at a high level,” Gulyás said, adding however that the situation must be resolved by September.
Ukraine oil delivery curbs breach EU agreement
Ukrainian restrictions on crude deliveries breach numerous provisions of the EU association agreement, János Bóka, the EU affairs minister, told a government news briefing on Friday.
When it comes to cases requiring urgent measures, the European Commission will launch a consultation process with Ukraine within three days at the initiative of member states, though arbitration can also be initiated in the absence of a satisfactory outcome, the minister said.
Hungary is also examining whether the crude delivery restrictions breach WTO and Energy Charter rules, Bóka added.
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Bulgaria has offered to help Hungary manage the difficulties that have arisen after Ukraine’s ban on the transit of oil from Russia’s Lukoil, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Bucharest on Wednesday.
Speaking after talks with Vladimir Malinov, Bulgaria’s minister for energy affairs, Szijjártó said they had reviewed the situation that had arisen due to Ukraine’s “unacceptable” move to render Lukoil’s crude oil transits to Hungary and Slovakia impossible.
“Ukraine thwarted us, but we can count on Bulgaria”, Szijjártó wrote on Facebook:
“Not only are they endangering Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy security by doing this, but they are also violating the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine,” Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement.
Meanwhile, he said the EU’s Trade Policy Committee set to discuss the issue had convened in Brussels on Wednesday.
“It’s clear that certain EU member states continue to represent a political stance, and despite the fact that the step taken by Ukraine obviously violates the security of Hungary and Slovakia’s energy supply as well as the EU-Ukraine association agreement, they’re trying to defend Ukraine and clearly don’t care about the European Union’s internal solidarity,” Szijjártó said.
“We’ll see when the European Commission formulates its position and convenes the consultation between the European Union and Ukraine, which we expect to result in Ukraine lifting the ban on Lukoil oil transits,” he added.
Szijjártó noted that a significant share of Hungary’s natural gas supply was delivered via Bulgaria, and that the country was among the most reliable in the region.
Hungary received 5.6 billion cubic metres of natural gas through Bulgaria last year and 3.9 billion so far this year, he said.
“Bulgaria respects all of its obligations as a transit country,” he said.
Szijjártó said his Bulgarian partner had offered to help Hungary in connection with the situation that has arisen after the Ukrainian ban.
“Though there’s no direct crude oil delivery link, i.e. pipeline between the two countries, he did say that if we needed further volumes of oil, they are capable of getting it to Hungary,” Szijjártó said. “Offering this kind of help is another nice and friendly gesture from Bulgaria.”
Ukraine is “brutally attacking Hungary for its pro-peace stance”, Fidesz communications director Tamás Menczer on Tuesday, referring to a decision to shut down a pipeline carrying Russian crude to Hungary.
Ukraine punishes Hungary?
“They’re trying and destroy those who support peace, using every possible means… It is dishonest, unacceptable and illegitimate,” the ruling party’s spokesman said in a video posted on Facebook.
Menczer cited a Ukrainian MP as saying that Hungary’s resistance towards arms shipments to Ukraine “must be broken”.
“We are being punished for being pro-peace; this time our energy security is under attack. It is quite possible that it was not Ukraine’s idea alone; they may have been assisted by pro-war Brussels circles or even US Democrats,” he said.
“Everyone should be prepared: Hungary won’t let it go,” he warned.
What remains most important amid fresh developments in the US presidential race is that Donald Trump is a beacon of hope for peace in the world, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Tuesday.
Trump a beacon of hope?
Photo: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter
Szijjártó said that if the former president was re-elected, then there would be “a huge chance of bringing peace to the world, including Europe … and central Europe, too”.
According to a ministry statement, he said the war on the Russian-Ukrainian front was “more and more brutal”, and only an external actor may bring the warring parties to the negotiating table, making it clear to them that “no solution lies on the battlefield”.
“Only Donald Trump has such a chance,” he said, adding that the Republican presidential candidate would hopefully seize it at the earliest possible opportunity.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said the fact that the EU’s foreign policy chief had changed the venue of the bloc’s informal foreign affairs council to Brussels from Budapest was “not of great importance”. “It didn’t matter to me then, and it doesn’t matter now,” he said.
He insisted that those in favour of holding the meeting in Budapest outweighed those against.
Szijjártó said that the recent meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council had been characterised by “unbelievable hysteria”, and he referred to “pro-war politicians venting their frustration” at Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s “peace mission”.
He noted that Slovakia “despite the pressure, stood by Hungary openly”. The minister said there had been “clear cooperation between two patriotic governments” who worked together “in a fraternal way” despite not being politically aligned “according to the old divides”, he added.
Szijjártó: IFRC expands Budapest office
The expanded Budapest office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was inaugurated on Tuesday, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said, adding that this was set to further bolster the organisation’s activities.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Szijjártó noted that the IFRC had chosen Budapest as the location for its global service centre eight years ago and this was the second expansion of the office since then.
Currently, there are 118 Hungarian and 110 foreign citizens working at the Budapest IFRC office, he said, adding that the expansion was set to increase staff to up to 280.
Szijjártó said it was important to ensure the most favourable operating conditions possible, which could help the organisation carry out its duties at the highest possible level. The government, he added, had assured the IFRC of its continued support, noting the tax exemptions for its staff members, which parliament will have to approve in the autumn.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said mankind had entered “an era of dangers”, with armed conflicts going on in more than 30 places in the world.
Concerning the war in Ukraine, the minister said around 1,500 schools and kindergartens have welcomed Ukrainian refugee children. Refugees, he added, had equal access to health care, and the government was also supporting them in finding jobs.
On another subject, Szijjártó praised the work of the Hungary Helps agency which has so far carried out 360 humanitarian projects worth a combined 120 million US dollars across 64 countries.
He said the organisation’s aim was to ensure that Christian and other communities could survive where they have been living for centuries instead of being forced to leave their homeland.
He said that as a country with a thousand years of Christian statehood behind it, Hungary felt a special responsibility for Christian communities around the world.
“We believe that one’s right to live in one’s home in safe and peaceful conditions is one of the most important aspects of human rights,” he said. “The international community’s most important goal should be to restore these fundamental rights, and I think the IFRC plays a leading role in this.”
Szijjártó noted that Hungary has been a member of the IFRC since 1921.
Amid growing concerns over energy security, Ukraine has responded to the recent partial blockage of the pipeline transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
The Ukrainian government has recently addressed public concerns regarding the partial blockage of the Friendship pipeline, which plays a crucial role in transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Both the Slovak and Hungarian governments have expressed strong criticism over Ukraine’s decision to suspend a significant portion of Russian oil supplies. Reports from international media suggest that this dispute between Ukraine and Hungary over oil could potentially lead to serious energy shortages and a dramatic rise in prices within Hungary, according to Világgazdaság.
Since last week, the flow of Russian oil into Hungary has been significantly reduced due to Ukraine’s decision to block the Friendship pipeline, which is operated by the Russian company Lukoil. Russian sources estimate that this blockage has resulted in a loss of approximately 1.1 million barrels of oil per month. This reduction is impacting not just Hungary but also Slovakia. The Friendship pipeline terminates at two key refineries: the Danube Refinery (DuFi) in Hungary and the Bratislava Refinery in Slovakia. Historically, about two-thirds of the oil processed at these refineries originated from Russia.
Photo: FB
Although some Russian oil continues to reach Hungary, a substantial portion of this supply has come from Lukoil. Official reports indicate that Lukoil was responsible for handling half of the pipeline imports to the east, with Hungary and Slovakia collectively purchasing around two million tonnes of oil from the company each year. According to public records, the Hungarian oil company Mol has an ongoing contract with Lukoil to deliver 4 million tonnes of oil annually until 2025, which represents about 5% of Lukoil’s total yearly production.
Ukraine’s response regarding Russian oil
In response to the unfolding oil crisis, Ukrainian media, including Forbes Ukraine, have reported a statement from the Ukrainian energy company Ukrtransnafta. The company aims to address the concerns by clarifying that oil transportation to the European Union via Ukraine is continuing as scheduled and that the restrictions currently only apply to Lukoil.
Source: canva.com
Ukrtransnafta has highlighted that oil supplies to European nations are being delivered as requested by their customers. An important detail in resolving the current situation is that Lukoil, which is under international sanctions, does not own the oil being supplied to the Hungarian energy company Mol Plc through Ukraine. This detail was reportedly confirmed to Ukrtransnafta by Mol in a letter addressed to the National Security and Defence Council. The letter dates back to when Ukraine initially blacklisted Lukoil.
This situation suggests that other Russian suppliers, who are not subject to sanctions, could potentially step in to cover the oil supply shortage. This implies that the Ukrainian-Hungarian oil crisis could be mitigated if the restrictions are specifically targeted at Lukoil, allowing non-sanctioned Russian companies to fill the gap in the oil supply chain.
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Hungary and Slovakia have jointly initiated a consultation procedure at the European Union against Ukraine in connection with an “unexpected and unfriendly move” which involved partially halting crude oil supplies, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday.
The ministry cited Szijjártó telling a press conference after the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels that the Ukrainian decision to stop Russian oil company Lukoil’s crude oil transits had severely endangered energy supplies for Hungary and Slovakia.
He said that energy supplies were not a matter of politics but infrastructure, and considering that there were no alternative routes, Hungary’s crude oil needs could not be resolved without Russian resources. As a result, Hungary, together with Slovakia and Czechia, has been granted exemption from EU sanctions in terms of imports, he added.
He also said that Lukoil provided one-third of Hungary’s and 45 percent of Slovakia’s crude oil imports, and the Ukrainian ban therefore posed a fundamental threat to the two countries’ energy security.
“This is an unacceptable and incomprehensible decision from a country that wants to be an EU member, and with a single decision it endangers the crude oil supplies of two countries,” he said.
For the time being, the situation could be stabilised with temporary solutions but the security of crude oil supplies for Hungary and Slovakia cannot be guaranteed without Lukoil supplies even in the medium term, he said
“As a result, we have been in continual consultations with the Slovak government in order to resolve the situation. Yesterday I also talked to the Ukrainian foreign minister by phone and he said there were naturally no problems and all transits were allowed through Ukraine, but this is obviously no true,” Szijjártósaid.
“Lukoil supplies have not been able to arrive in Hungary for several weeks … with this new regulation Ukraine prohibited the transit of crude oil supplies from Lukoil,” he added.
Szijjártósaid this violated the EU-Ukraine association agreement which stated that Kyiv must not disrupt the transit of energy to members of the bloc. In line with the agreement, in such case the affected member state can immediately launch a consultation procedure and the European Commission is obliged to represent the state in the matter, he added.
If the issue cannot be resolved, then there is an option to set up a chosen court and proceedings to be executed within forty days, and if even that does not bring a solution, then the EU is authorised to not fulfil some of its contractual obligations, such as in the area of the customs duties exemptions.
“Today jointly with Slovakia we initiated at the European Commission the launch of consultations that precede the chosen court proceedings,” he said. “It is an urgent matter because the security of energy supplies is an acute issue, and the European Commission therefore has three days to carry out the consultations with Ukraine, and failing that, the chosen court will start dispute settlement proceedings,” he added.
The minister said that the two countries were simultaneously working on various legal and technical solutions in order to ensure that in case the consultations failed, the court dispute settlement proceedings could start.
“We have been continually in contact and certain solutions have been taking shape that could secure energy supplies in the long term,” he said.
Szijjártósaid the Ukrainian decision was “unfriendly and unexpected” also in light of the fact that 42 percent of the country’s electricity imports arrived from Hungary in June.
He said that despite all the criticism it was receiving, Hungary was continually aiding Ukraine’s energy supply “in these hard times”.
The company that operates Hungary’s electricity network is making serious efforts to help Ukraine connect with the European network, he said.
Additionally, next to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary granted rapid aid to Ukraine for the operation of its energy system, Szijjártó said.
There is no time to waste in finding a solution to the Ukraine ban. Hungary’s strategic reserve is only enough for 90 days, while Ukraine openly said their decision to partly ban Russian oil imports aims to reduce Hungary’s resistance concerning arms deliveries and the country’s EU accession. Will Hungary accept Kyiv’s demands or a kind of “cold war” starts with skyrocketing prices and shortages?
Fuel price hike and power outages in Hungary?
Ukrainian President Zelensky and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met in Kyiv for the first time on 5 July since the country’s Russian invasion began. The two looked happy after the long negotiation. Orbán talked about peace, and the press reports focused on how Ukraine would modify its laws to help the indigenous Hungarian minority survive in Transcarpathia.
However, it seems the Hungarian government’s peace mission (including Orbán’s visit to Beijing, and Moscow) did not only revolt some politicians in Brussels but urged Ukrainian politicians to do something harmful to win Hungary’s support for arms deliveries and EU accession. This week, for example, Zelensky suggested in a speech in the UK that PM Orbán was a traitor to the alliance since he visited Putin in Moscow.
Photo: FB/Orbán
We wroteon Thursday that Ukraine halted Russian oil giant Lukoil’s supply to Hungarian company MOL Plc. MOL processes around 70% of its oil from Russia and Lukoil’s supply is half of it. The ban comes after a new presidential decree entering into effect in June which tightened sanctions on Lukoil.
Kyiv wants to reduce Moscow’s oil money
FM Szijjártó calledthe Ukrainian decision “incomprehensible and unacceptable” and said they should find a quick solution. Before, he talked about oil transit through Belarus, but MOLrefused to comment. Hungary would be in trouble in the medium term, Szijjártóhighlighted. “The Ukrainian decision will seriously impact the security of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia in the long term,” Szijjártó noted.
Szijjártó and Lavrov in New York. Photo: FB/Szijjártó
Ilona Gizińska, a Hungary expert of the Polish OSW institute (Centre for Eastern Studies) told Politicothat “the Ukrainian measures could create a severe situation.” Though Kyiv’s aim is to take out money from Moscow’s war coffers, a side-effect is that Hungary (and Slovakia) may face an energy crisis in the middle of the summer heatwave.
Is Ukraine blackmailing Hungary?
But Ukraine does not seem to be worried because of that side effect. “It’s actually absurd to allow them to make this money by transporting this oil through Ukrainian territory if the money is then being used to kill us,” Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the opposition pro-EU Holos party who sits in the parliament’s energy committee, said.
Should we expect fuel shortages soon? Creative Commons CC0 1.0
She also made it clear that the ban’s aim was to overturn Hungary’s opposition to arms deliveries to Ukraine and the country’s EU accession.
Politico wrote about alternatives. For example, Hungary could get more oil from Rosneft, another Russian oil giant, or increase supply via the Adria Pipeline from Croatia. Finally, it can use its strategic reserves enough for 90 days. But time is running out.
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Ukraine’s stopping Russian crude oil transit shipments to Hungary has been an “incomprehensible and unacceptable” decision, the foreign minister said on Friday, but added that “supplies to Hungary have been stabilised by way of temporary solutions”.
Answering questions at a press conference, Péter Szijjártó, however, said that the facilities applied “will not work in the medium term”, adding that it was necessary to find a quick solution.
Szijjártó noted that Hungary and Slovakia had been exempted from a European Union sanction banning the use of the Druzhba pipeline which supplies oil from Russia to the region.
“So far … a correct energy cooperation has worked” between Hungary and Ukraine, Szijjártó said, adding that “Hungary has helped Ukraine many times and in many ways to ensure the security of their energy supplies.” “Reports about Ukraine’s changing their regulations under which shipments by Russia’s Lukoilcannot transit Ukraine to Hungary came out of the blue,” the foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying in a statement.
Ukraine’s decision seriously impacts Hungarian and Slovakian oil security
Lukoil supplies one half of the oil imported from the east by pipeline, the statement said, adding that Hungary and Slovakia purchased an annual two million tonnes of crude oil from the Russian company.
“The Ukrainian decision will seriously impact the security of oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia in the long term,” Szijjártó said.
“We have told Ukraine’s authorities that it has been an incomprehensible, unacceptable and unfriendly decision … they showed some readiness to remedy the situation but those endeavours were somehow interrupted half way,” he said. The foreign minister added that the Hungarian government was in contact with its Slovak counterpart, and that the matter would be raised at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.
“It is strange that a country aspiring to be integrated with the EU is seriously jeopardising the energy supplies of two member states,” he said. “We are working to come up with a solution though we have not caused the problem; Ukraine should resolve it and I sincerely hope that they will soon do so,” Szijjártó said.
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A new Ukrainian sanction, effective since late June, has halted Russian oil giant Lukoil’s supply to Hungarian company MOL Plc. via Ukraine. Due to Lukoil’s inability to lease the Ukrainian pipeline network, this disruption threatens MOL’s operations, as it processes around 70 percent of its oil from Russia. The situation raises concerns over a potential fuel supply crisis in Hungary and the surrounding region.
Lukoil halts oil supply to Hungary
Portfolioreports that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, after discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York, confirmed that Lukoil had halted its oil supply to Hungary via Ukraine due to new legal constraints. Szijjártó emphasised the importance of Russian oil for Hungary’s energy security and stated that efforts are underway to find a legal solution to resume deliveries. MOL is collaborating with Lukoil to reestablish oil transit through Belarus and Ukraine.
Portfolio contacted MOL, but the company refused to respond, stating that negotiation details are confidential. The issue arose from a Ukrainian presidential decree effective 26 June, tightening sanctions on Lukoil before Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán’s early July visit to Kyiv. This decree bans Lukoil and Rosneft from renting Ukraine’s state-owned oil network, disrupting MOL’s Russian oil imports from Lukoil.
MOL to suffer from the ban on Russian oil
Lukoil, a major supplier of crude oil to Hungary via the Southern Friendship pipeline, has been affected by recent Ukrainian sanctions. This is significant for MOL, which relies on Russian supplies for two-thirds of its crude oil imports, with Lukoil alone accounting for about half of these imports, roughly 6-6.2 million tonnes annually. Consequently, MOL has lost around one-third of its crude oil imports in recent weeks, raising concerns about supply security.
The MOL Tower in Budapest. Photo: FB/MOL Campus
Despite Fitch Ratings suggesting MOL could replace Russian crude by 2025, and the company’s strategy to diversify sources by 2026, the new Ukrainian measures pose a critical challenge depending on their duration and conditions, as highlighted by energy expert Attila Holoda. In addition, there is no deadline on the recent Ukrainian decree.
The outlooks
The security of Hungary’s oil supply is at increased risk due to the recent Ukrainian sanctions affecting Lukoil’s transit through the southern branch of the Friendship pipeline, which also supplies Slovakia and the Czech Republic. MOL’s Slovakian subsidiary, Slovnaft, is impacted, although it is blending more non-Russian crude during refinery maintenance. The EU sanctions require Slovnaft to significantly increase its non-Russian input to 60 percent by year-end, having already reached 30 percent.
Additionally, Hungary faces constraints with the Adriatic pipeline from Croatia, which cannot fully meet the combined needs of MOL’s Százhalombatta and Bratislava refineries. Strained Hungarian–Croatian relations and increased transit costs further complicate imports. However, strategic reserves and alternative non-sanctioned sources can mitigate supply difficulties, along with intermittent use of the Adriatic pipeline for non-Russian oil.
The chance for achieving peace is “far greater” with negotiations, re-opening diplomatic channels and dialogue than with weapons deliveries, sanctions and a strategy based on diplomatic refusal, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in a telephone interview with public radio broadcast on Sunday.
Szijjártósaid it was now “apparent to everybody” that the strategy of Europe and the United States over the past two and a half years didn’t work, even though Western politicians wouldn’t say so in public because that would be an admission of failure.
Sanctions were a “shot in the foot, then the knee, then the chest” for the European economy, while European and American weapons deliveries didn’t change the situation on the battlefield and didn’t bring the war any nearer to a close, he added.
Szijjártó said there was no solution on the battlefield and that resolution needed to be sought at the negotiating table and by opening diplomatic channels. He added that restoring the legitimacy of dialogue for peace was “extraordinarily important”.
Addressing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s talks in the past week, Szijjártó said no politician, especially a European one, could have done what the prime minister did. Besides Hungary’s prime minister, European politicians who can talk to everybody, who are welcomed everywhere and accepted as negotiating partners are no more, he added.
“Besides Viktor Orbán, there is nobody in Europe today in the position to hold talks with the presidents of China, Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the former, and many think future, president of the United States in the course of a week,” he said.
He added that there were three big players on the global political scene today that could achieve a ceasefire: China, the United States and the European Union.
At least two, but preferably three, must advocate for peace if there is a chance for the warring sides to move in the direction of peace rather than further escalation, he said.
He said the US presidential election could have a decisive impact on the matter as it would determine whether the US continued its “pro-war policy” or there was a chance to bring pro-peace policy to the forefront.
Commenting on the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Szijjártó pointed to attempts “to block pro-peace policies with the most brutal, most unimaginable” means, just as with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico.
Péter Magyar, the deputy leader of the opposition Tisza Party, has handed over humanitarian aid to the children’s hospital in Kyiv that was hit by a rocket earlier in the week.
Magyarshared a videorecording of his trip on social media.
The politician spoke about the Russian attack and its aftermath with Volodymyr Zhovnyr, the hospital’s head. He said the “Hungarian people understand and know” that Ukraine had the right to defend its territory.
Magyar said he, too, wanted peace but “does not travel on a private jet to meet dictators and conduct secret negotiations…”
He added that his visit showed that “Ukrainian brothers and Hungarians in Ukraine” could count on Hungary.
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Historic Orbán-Zelensky meeting: trust rebuilt, ceasefire on the horizon? – Read more HERE
Foreign minister: NATO having ‘serious dilemmas’ concerning war in Ukraine
NATO has “serious dilemmas” concerning the war in Ukraine, “especially since members states sharply reject dialogue with Russia, yet Israel is being pressed by half the world to start negotiations with a terrorist organisation to settle the Gaza conflict,” Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine council, Szijjarto said Ukraine’s NATO integration would not strengthen but weaken the organisation, adding that “members have different positions on the matter, even if some do not publicly promote them”.
Ukraine joining NATO would not strengthen NATO’s image as a defence organisation since the move would “openly trigger the risk of war between NATO and Russia”.
“When we Hungarians and our central European friends … joined, it reinforced NATO, its unity and its character as a defence organisation; the same could not be said of Ukraine’s possible entry,” he said, adding that “the greatest care should be taken when talking about Ukraine’s possible membership.”
While Israel is under pressure to have talks with Hamas, “in the case of the Ukraine war, diplomatic ties are cut and channels of communication closed; and if anyone proposes talks they are instantly stigmatised,” Szijjarto said.
“This is so strange and controversial that one cannot help thinking that something is going on in the background that we are not aware of… There could be negotiations in the background, but to cover those up, they will be hysterically reacting to any suggestions aimed at negotiations,” the minister said.
He said fresh data showing that trade turnover between the US and Russia had increased by 50 percent in May “raises further doubt”. He said that Russian exports to the US were supported by sales of uranium, “which is interesting because Washington is trying to press Europe to cut its nuclear cooperation with Russia”.
“We will continue to promote dialogue and activise diplomatic channels, because the strategy the north-Atlantic and European world have represented for two and a half years seems to have failed entirely,” Szijjarto said. “More and more people are dying in the war” in the wake of the shipments of arms to Ukraine, posing a “brutal risk of escalation”, he said. Szijjarto called for “a different strategy centred around revitalising diplomatic ties and dialogue”.
Hungary and Türkiye are strengthening cooperation to make sure that “peace returns to the agenda of international organisations”, the foreign minister said in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
According to a ministry statement, Péter Szijjártó told the NATO summit that Hungary and Türkiye “have had highest-level talks within the framework of the peace mission launched after [Hungary] took over the European presidency.”
He said Türkiye was the only country whose efforts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia had been successful, and the resulting agreement on grain helped stave off a food-supply crisis in several places around the world.
“In the coming period we’ll coordinate our work even more with Türkiye… to make sure that peace at least will be included on the agenda of international organisations,” he said.
He called it “problematic” that international organisations, including the NATOsummit, were “abuzz with discussions” on war. “Peace as an expression has become as good as illegitimate in those organisations.”
Those bringing up peace, he said, had been stigmatised and “labelled everything from Putin’s puppet to a Trojan horse, Russian agent and a propagandist of the Kremlin.”
Budapest and Ankara both have as much information on the war as possible
Erdogan, too, recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin, so “Budapest and Ankara both have as much information on the war as possible.”
Hungary and Türkiye agree on the importance of a peace conference with both warring side in attendance, Szijjártó said. The peace conference in Switzerland, he added, showed that “it’s impossible to find a solution if only one warring party is present”.
He said the past two and a half years showed that the Western strategy had failed. Compared with the situation at the start of the war, “we must say the situation is much worse now… Who knows how many dead, millions of refugees, a country largely in ruins, a deteriorating situation at the front, increasingly cruel and brutal war events, an mounting threat of escalation; that’s where we are right now,” he said.
“We need a strategy that opens communication channels and restores the legitimacy of diplomacy,” he added.
Speaking about a meeting with his Serbian counterpart, Szijjártó said the talks were important “because both countries want peace and they are constantly under political attack for that. Those attacks will not deter us from representing the cause of peace and national interests,” he said.
EU enlargement policy to lose credibility unless W Balkans accession speeded up
Western Balkans countries have been waiting for European Union membership for more than 15 years on average, the foreign minister said on Facebook late on Wednesday, adding that the bloc’s enlargement policy was at risk of losing all credibility if the accession process was not speeded up. “Some may want just that, but we won’t allow it, and will help Montenegro in closing at least 7 chapters” during Hungary’s EU presidency, Szijjártó said.
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán visited Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of what he calls a “peace mission” on 5 July, three days after visiting Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky. During the meeting, Putin informed Orbán that for peace to be achieved, Ukraine must essentially surrender. Orbán’s visit to Moscow, which angered the EU, US, and Kyiv, was aimed at discussing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Putin criticised Kyiv for its determination to “continue the war”
During the Kremlin visit of PM Orbán (“the friendliest leader in the EU to Moscow”, according to Euractiv), described by Putin as a “really useful, frank conversation,” the two leaders discussed potential solutions to the Ukraine conflict. The Russian President reiterated his demand for Ukraine to withdraw troops from regions annexed by Moscow and criticised Kyiv for its determination to continue the war.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference after their bilateral talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 05 July 2024. Viktor Orbán was in Moscow for a one-day working visit. Photo: EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV
The meeting, held shortly after Hungary assumed the EU’s rotating presidency, was seen as controversial. EU officials condemned Orbán’s visit, emphasising that he did not represent the EU in these discussions. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticised Orbán, asserting that his visit undermined the EU’s unified stance on Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government also denounced the meeting, clarifying that Hungary had not coordinated the visit with Kyiv. The White House and NATO echoed the EU’s disapproval, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stating that Orbán was not representing the alliance in his talks with Putin.
While most EU leaders condemned the visit, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico supported Orbán’s initiative, stating he would have joined if not for health issues.
Orbán, defending his actions, argued that peace requires dialogue and action, not just discussions in Brussels.
This visit marked the first by a European leader to Moscow since Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s trip in April 2022. Orbán and Putin had previously met in October 2023 in Beijing to discuss energy cooperation, Euractiv concludes.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has arrived in Moscow as part of his “peace mission”, the prime minister’s press chief said.
Viktor Orbán in Moscow
Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia on 5 July 2024. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
Orbánis scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit, Bertalan Havasi told MTI.
Shortly after his arrival, Viktor Orbán posted the visit on his official Facebook page, with the following caption:
“Moscow after Kyiv. The second stage of the peace mission.”
According to Telex, shortly after 9 AM on Friday morning, the Airbus A-319 government plane that usually carries Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took off from Budapest. The PM travelled to the Russian capital a few days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Orbán does not represent the EU in Moscow
Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia on 5 July 2024. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy issued a separate statement on Friday morning saying that Viktor Orbán will visit Moscow only in the framework of bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia, and will not represent the EU in any way in Moscow, Telex writes.
As we wroteon Thursday, the President of the European Council Charles Michel said on X (formerly Twitter) that the EU’s rotating presidency “has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU.” He added that the European Council’s standpoint concerning the issue was clear: “Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. No discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine.”
Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, took to the social media site to write: “The rumours about your visit to Moscow cannot be true @PM_ViktorOrban, or can they?”
PM Viktor Orbán in Moscow, Russia on 5 July 2024. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Benko Vivien Cher
FM Szijjártó is also in Russia
According to HVG, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also travelled to the Russian capital. The news site reported that a few minutes after 7 AM, the Dassault Falcon 7x aircraft, registration 606 of the Hungarian Defence Forces, usually used by the Foreign Minister, took off from Budapest Airport. The radar image shows that the luxury jet took off for Slovakia and then flew via Belarus to Russia, landing in Moscow shortly after 9 AM. Szijjártó posted on Facebook after arriving in the Russian capital:
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Wednesday gave a video interview to conservative Swiss daily Weltwoche, and said that during his recent visit to Kyiv he had not aimed to convince President Volodymyr Zelensky but “gauge the limits of Kyiv’s stance regarding the peace process”.
Seeking position and limits
During the talks on Tuesday, Orbánsaid he had aimed to leave behind “the not too flourishing ties” of recent times between the two countries, and concentrate on the future. He said he had talked about the large Hungarian community in Ukraine, especially in territories that used to belong to Hungary, and suggested that Ukraine put forward an action plan that would be beneficial for Ukraine’s negotiations in the EU accession process as well as for the Hungarian minority.
Orbán said he had not tried to “convince” Zelensky, nor had he made proposals. He said he had aimed to clarify Zelensky’s “position and limits when we speak about peace”. Orbán said that as the head of the country holding the European presidency, he was planning to prepare a report on “the possibility of peace” for the European Council, as the current proposals were wasting time. He therefore asked Zelensky to first start a ceasefire to speed up negotiations, he said.
Orbán: Zelensky was not happy
Orbán said Zelensky “was not very happy with the idea, he had had bad experiences with previous ceasefires”. He understood Hungary’s position and “explained his limits”, Orbán said.
Here is a video of the journey to Kyiv from Budapest:
On the matter of the EU as a power in foreign policy, Orbán said the issue depended on the leaders of large European countries. “If the Germans, French and Italians are not coming together and making decisions and suggestions for the others,” but waste time on divvying up positions, change will not happen, he said.
Orbán said his talks in Berlin, Rome and Paris had been the start of a “peace mission.” He had tried “to convince the leaders that they should take the lead,” otherwise Europe will disappear from the international arena, he warned.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, visiting Kyiv on Tuesday, asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire tied to a deadline.
At a press conference held jointly with the Ukrainian president, Orbán thanked his host for the invitation, noting that they had agreed to today’s talks at their meeting in Brussels last Thursday.
Orbán said it was his first foreign trip after Hungary’s taking over the European Union’s presidency on Monday, adding: “Peace is important not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe.”
Orbán said he appreciated Zelensky’sinitiatives aimed at creating peace, but added that those initiatives would take a long time to come to fruition.
“The ways of international diplomacy are slow and complicated … I put it to the president that we should consider whether the order may be reversed by speeding up peace talks with a quick ceasefire,” Orbán said. “A ceasefire tied to a deadline, which could offer the opportunity to accelerate peace talks; I have assessed the options for that scenario,” he added.
Orbán said he had cleared those issues up with the Ukrainian president, adding he was grateful for the honest talks and answers. He said he would prepare a report for the European Council “that could be a baseline for the necessary European decisions”.
Hungary will help Ukraine, Orbán said
He wished success to Ukraine and said Hungary was “at Ukraine’s disposal” during its EU presidency, and would help wherever it could.
Orbán said he had come to Kyiv to achieve progress in bilateral ties. He called the talks constructive, adding a meeting had been long overdue in view of the many issues needing resolution, “over which we have negotiated and debated a lot in the past years”.
Photo: FB/Orbán
“We are trying to put the debates of the past behind us and concentrate on the period ahead of us,” he said.
Orbán said he wished that ties between Hungary and Ukraine were much better, adding that Hungary wanted to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Ukraine, similarly to many of its other neighbours.
Hungary is also willing to take part in the modernisation of the Ukrainian economy, Orbán said, adding that the process required a regulated framework.
First Ukrainian school may open in Hungary
Regarding the situation of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine, Orbán said he saw a chance for progress. He welcomed Zelensky’s proposal to set up a Ukrainian school in Hungary. Hungary will fund the schools, “and set up as many as necessary. If there’s need for one, then one, and if there’s need for ten, then ten”, he said.
Ukrainians have always been present in Hungary, which also has a Ukrainian minority self-government, he said. At the same time, there are many more now with the influx of refugees, he added. Those families need care, work, a livelihood and security, and the children need adequate schools and good teachers, he said, adding it was important that Ukrainians in Hungary felt at home there.
The joint press conference:
Zelensky, Orbán agree to prepare bilateral agreement to overcome disagreements
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had agreed to prepare a bilateral agreement aimed at overcoming disagreements between their countries.
“Everything we discussed today serves as a basis for a future bilateral document between our states which will regulate all segments of our relations and will be mutually beneficial for both countries,” Zelensky told a press conference after talks with Orbán. He added that this agreement would make it possible for Ukraine to benefit from “all the positives of European unity”.
Zelensky said he had proposed opening a Ukrainian school in Hungary for the Ukrainian children there, adding that Orbán had assured him of his support for the initiative.
He welcomed that the Hungarian prime minister’s first foreign trip after Hungary’s taking over the European Union’s presidency was to Ukraine. “This demonstrates our joint European priority,” he said. “It is important for there to be peace, so that we can put the strengthening of Europe on new foundations,” he said.
Zelensky grateful for Hungary’s support
Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Hungary for its humanitarian support for Ukraine, underlining that he believed that saving lives was the most important consideration. “Hungary is prepared to cooperate effectively in the interest of achieving long-term security in our region and Europe,” he said. Zelensky said he and Orbán had discussed in detail the ways Hungary could participate in the organisation of a second global peace summit, which Kyiv hopes could take place as early as later this year.
“We will be grateful to Hungary if it supports us in this,” he said. “It is important for Hungary’s EU presidency to be effective. Though our political views don’t always align, we both serve the strengthening of Europe, social progress and the economic prosperity of European businesses.”
Photo: FB/Orbán
Zelensky said Ukraine’s accession to the EU would be a long process, underlining the importance of Europe’s continued support for Ukraine and his country’s beneficial cooperation with all of its neighbours.
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The defence minister said he discussed Europe’s security situation and the risks posed by the war in Ukraine with David Pressman, the US ambassador to Hungary, on Wednesday.
In a post on Facebook, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky noted that NATO is holding a summit in Washington, DC in less than two weeks. Hungary joined the military alliance that marks its 75th anniversary this year 25 years ago, the minister said.
Hungary is a committed and loyal NATO ally, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. The country will however not contribute money, weapons or soldiers to the alliance’s coordination mission on weapons deliveries to Ukraine and military training, but will not block such efforts, either, he said.
“I informed Ambassador Pressman about the Hungarian government’s step that will affect American soldiers serving at the military air base in Pápa,” the minister said, noting that a draft legislation allowing the US soldiers to obtain Hungarian number plates in a simplified procedure would soon be launched for a public consultation.
The US Embassy also posted a summary of the meeting
The crossing of red lines in the European Union has started, with the bloc ignoring Hungary’s right to decide on the matter of 1.4 billion euros for financing arms deliveries to Ukraine and sending military trainers there, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Luxembourg on Monday.
Szijjártó said pro-war governments had “failed massively” electorally, yet “war hysteria” had ratcheted up ever since and “they have ignored the will of the people”. During a break of the EU Foreign Affairs Council he told a press conference that it was clear that many EU member states were preparing gearing up for a long war.
He noted that another 1.4 billion euros from the European Peace Fund would be used to finance weapons for Ukraine, “even though Hungary doesn’t assent to this”, adding that the funds essentially matched seized or frozen Russian assets.
As Hungary abstained from the first vote on their use, he said EU bodies and member states had taken that as a cue to ignore Hungary’s position and its right to decide.
“This is a clear red line,” the minister said, adding that disregarding common European rules had been regarded in the past as “a shameless violation”. He insisted that European rules were being breached by those who vociferously advocated rule-of-law procedures and talked about the threat to democratic values.
Szijjártó said it appeared that the EU apparently was willing to carry on crossing red lines, referring to a proposal by the EU’s foreign policy chief on training Ukrainian soldiers on Ukrainian territory as well as in other countries, which he called “extremely dangerous”. This proposal would also “cross a red line”, he said, warning that this would be “the first step” towards stationing EU troops in Ukraine.
The minister also said that Hungary was under immense pressure to assent to the release of around 6.5 billion euros from the European Peace Framework for the purpose of making further arms shipments to Ukraine, adding that if the Ukrainian authorities carried on discriminating against Hungarian companies, “there can be no question of this” happening.
Szijjártó said the Ukrainian authorities were considering stripping Hungarian pharma company Richter of some of its distribution licences and may be drafting a new list of “companies that support the war”, putting Hungarian companies in the crosshairs once again.
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