Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, had talks with Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s minister for petroleum and natural gas, and agreed that issues of energy cooperation “must not be regarded as political or ideological issues as they are a matter of physical reality.”
Minister Szijjártó said the “failed and harmful” EU sanctions against Russia posed serious challenges to energy supply and security. He said Russian energy resources now made their way to Europe through third countries, “at higher prices than before”. “So everyone except Europe benefits from the sanctions, which is also showing up in our falling competitiveness.” Hungary and India had similarly “realistic” views on energy, he said. “We see supply security and reasonable prices as equally important, and so neither country have given up energy cooperation with Russia… The loudest critics [of Russia] on the world stage are also buying Russian energy resources in secret or in work-around ways,” he said. On the subject of Hungary’s upcoming EU presidency, Szijjártó said Hungary would “restart talks on free trade between the EU and India, and start coordination on investment protection and on protecting designation of origin”. “During the six months of our presidency, we will also convene a meeting of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council,” he said.