Szijjarto: Hungary cannot give up Russian oil because it 'has no other choice'
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjarto said that his country cannot give up Russian oil because it "has no other choice," Telex said.
"Hungary openly buys Russian oil because it has no other choice, while other European countries secretly buy Russian oil in a roundabout way because it is cheaper," Szijjarto said on Friday at a press conference following a meeting of the Joint Economic Committee of Hungary and Azerbaijan.
The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade was also asked about the recent statement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who called on European countries to stop buying Russian oil. "Let's not be fooled by hypocrites, because a significant part of those who criticize Hungary and Slovakia the most loudly for buying oil also buy Russian oil, only indirectly, through certain Asian countries," he said.
"And the fact that Hungary cooperates with Russia on energy security issues is largely due to the fact that the EU rejected our request for help in increasing the capacity of gas pipelines in Southeast Europe. And instead of increasing the capacity of the alternative gas pipeline leading to us, Croatia increased the transit fee for transportation five times compared to the European standard," Szijjártó said.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on September 4 that Trump was unhappy with the fact that Hungary and Slovakia were buying Russian oil and thereby helping the Russian military machine.