The foreign minister said threats to close the transit routes of crude oil and natural gas threaten the European Union’s unity and severely undermine solidarity between member states.
After talks with Serbian finance minister Siniša Mali on Wednesday, Péter Szijjártó said that such a threat “has surfaced in some EU communications”, and that Hungary sees it as a “severe attack on our sovereignty, energy security and security interests.” Regarding the EU proposal to sanction Russian crude imports, Minister Szijjártó warned that Hungary would not vote for such a scheme until it threatens the country’s energy security. The foreign minister said Hungary and Serbia have agreed to continue to guarantee safe transit routes for each other. Further, Hungary will allow Serbia to use Hungarian gas storage facilities to secure their supplies for the winter, he said. The war has increased the importance of cooperation between Serbia and Hungary, he said. Hungary receives 10 million cubic metres of gas via Serbia daily, and has transported 458 million cubic metres there this year, he said. Hungary and Serbia have also agreed to double the connections of their electric grids within the next 6-8 years, he said.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter