French media: Orbán ignores Europe, vigorously promotes Russian oil

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pledged to continue importing Russian fuel during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Friday, issuing a new challenge to the EU.

Orbán stated in a televised speech: "I want to emphasize that the current energy supply from Russia is the basis of Hungary's energy supply and will remain so in the future." He also added, "Despite various external pressures, we have never given up cooperation in any field."

Hungarian Prime Minister maintains good relations with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Unlike many European neighbors, he has not sought to diversify the country's energy imports since Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

President Putin expressed his "great pleasure" at the continuation of bilateral relations and said that the relationship between the two countries is based on "pragmatism".

Observers say this meeting may anger the EU, which is trying to reduce its dependence on Russian fuel and continues to impose sanctions on Moscow to pressure it to end the bloodiest conflict on the European continent since World War II.

Appeal against the decision

Earlier this month, Orbán announced that he had appealed to the European Court against the decision by the majority of member states to agree in principle to ban the import of Russian natural gas by the end of 2027.

Putin welcomed the fact that the relationship between Moscow and Budapest has remained despite many difficulties, and praised Orbán for his "balanced" stance on the "Ukrainian issue".

Hungarian Prime Minister refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and opposed stronger measures against Russia within NATO and the EU.

Months before the parliamentary elections, even though he was unsure whether he could win the election, Orbán announced on Facebook before the meeting that he hoped to ensure "reasonable prices" for energy supplies and boasted that the country's fuel prices had dropped due to the import of Russian natural gas and oil.

The day before, Putin confirmed on Thursday that the conflict would only end if Ukraine agreed to give up the eastern Ukrainian territories that Moscow has declared annexed; otherwise, Russian forces would "forcefully" complete the control of these territories.

Source: Al Jazeera, translated from French media

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1850098040833164/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself