Szijjártó made the remarks at a European Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, where the topics of transport, telecoms, and energy were on the agenda.
The Hungarian minister said he had arrived at the meeting “with a clear mandate, whereby Hungary doesn’t want to hold talks on a gas embargo.”
"That would practically incapacitate our economy and the entire country," Szijjártó explained.
"We see no issues if the European Union is looking for new sources of gas, but participation in that can only be voluntary, and the member states may not be subject to any obligation in relation to purchases,” he added.
Gas supplies have been limited by Russia’s state-owned Gazprom recently, which cited repair works as the reason for a reduction in gas supply from the Nord Stream pipeline. Key equipment was reportedly sent to Canada for maintenance which is yet to have been returned.
"If this is true, then we expect some action from the European Commission to ensure that gas supplies to Europe don’t end up in a crisis situation in the short term," Szijjártó added.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter