Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary will in “no way” support a proposal to introduce a cap on the price of gas in Europe.
According to MTI, the foreign minister called such a measure “sanctions in disguise” leading to further increases in energy prices and serious challenges in terms of supply security. Minister Szijjártó called the EU proposal “absurd”, saying it was aimed at “suppressing Russian gas imports”. Minister Szijjártó insisted that a member of the European Commission had admitted that the proposed measure would be a political move to cut Russian state revenues and would not result in reduced gas prices. He also said the proposal was “disguised as a price cap” because “as a commercial measure it could be adopted with a two-thirds majority, whereas sanctions need unanimous support”. Hungary would face serious risks to the security of its energy supplies should Russian gas be banned from the European market, Minister Szijjártó said. “Ensuring gas supplies for a country is not a political or ideological … but a physical issue,” he said.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter