Speaking in Brussels during a two-day summit, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary could back an EU embargo on Russian oil if it left out oil delivered through pipelines.
The prime minister said Hungary would find such a solution acceptable since this would not involve “dropping a nuclear bomb” on the country’s economy. PM Orbán also alluded to a recent veiled threat that “something may happen” to the pipeline transporting Russian oil, saying Hungary wanted an outcome from the summit that would leave it the right to procure Russian oil via sea shipments in such an event. “This is the guarantee we need. If I obtain such a guarantee we’re asking for today, then we’re safe,” the prime minister said. Responding to a question, PM Orbán said Hungary was prepared to back the EU’s sixth sanctions package if a guarantee were made regarding the security of Hungary’s energy supply, adding that solutions should be arrived at before sanctions are agreed. In the event Hungary was forced to make costly investments such as building pipelines and upgrading oil refineries, the country would not reap any “extra profit”, he said, adding that oil would end up costing Hungarians more than the current one. “We won’t let this happen,” he added.
Photo credit: MTI