Szijjarto: Ukraine’s move ‘serious attack’ on Hungary’s sovereignty

Hungary’s gas supplies must be secured by its government and “it is nobody else’s business how we do that”, the foreign ministry quoted Szijjarto as saying after a Hungarian-Czech government meeting. The minister insisted that “it is an issue of sovereignty”, adding that Hungary was not the only country to sign such a contract with Russia.

Building good neighbourly relations is in the interest of the Hungarian government, that is why “it provided Ukrainian soldiers with medical treatment in Hungary, and offered thousands of Ukrainian children, whose parents were impacted by the fights, vacations in the country”, the minister said.

Szijjarto insisted that Russian gas was being purchased “at a good price and in a reliable way”.

Concerning Ukraine’s Hungarian community, Szijjarto said allegations that Ukraine’s contested language law, restricting the right of ethnic minorities to use their mother tongue, had been passed because Russia had attacked the country were “clearly nonsensical”. Ethnic Hungarians have nothing to do with Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, and Ukraine “had better leave them out of it”, he said.

“Despite the pledges, nice words and talks that appear constructive, Hungarian minority rights are suppressed step by step,” Szijjarto said.

Orbán: ‘Ukraine has nothing to do with Hungary-Russia gas supply agreement’

The gas purchase agreement Hungary signed with Russia earlier this week is a matter of Hungary’s sovereignty, and Ukraine has nothing to do with it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said following talks with his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis on Wednesday.

Answering a question, Orbán said Hungary is a sovereign state and will purchase gas from whichever country it chooses. “It is up to us alone to decide which route we use to bring this energy to Hungary,” he said, adding that in selecting the route the only criteria is that it should provide the greatest security.