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Hungary remains one of the only countries in Europe to continue
purchasing Russian oil and natural gas following Russia's
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But Trump, an
admirer of the long-serving Hungarian leader, earlier this month
called on all NATO countries including Hungary to cease
purchasing Russian oil, since he believes the Russia-Ukraine war
would end if they did so.
In comments to state radio on Friday, Orbán said he recently
told Trump that that dropping Russian energy imports would be an
economic “disaster” for Hungary.
“I told the U.S. president ... that if Hungary is cut off from
Russian oil and natural gas, immediately, within a minute,
Hungarian economic performance will drop by 4%," Orbán said. "It
means the Hungarian economy would be on its knees.”
Despite three years of efforts by European Union countries to
wean off of Russian energy supplies — an effort to deprive
President Vladimir Putin of revenue that helps fuel the war in
Ukraine — Hungarian officials have insisted that geographical
and infrastructural constraints make it nearly impossible to
transition to using fossil fuels supplied from the West.
However, other countries in the region, including the similarly
landlocked Czech Republic, have managed to fully cease their
purchases of Russian oil since Moscow launched its invasion.
Slovakia, which neighbors Hungary, has also maintained its
Russian energy imports.
Yet despite pressure from the EU and the Trump administration,
Orbán, widely considered the EU leader with the closest
relationship to the Kremlin, said Friday that when it comes to
energy sources, "It is clear what is in Hungary’s interest and
we will act accordingly.”
Hungary and the United States, he said, "are sovereign
countries. There is no need for either of us to accept the
arguments of the other. America has its arguments and interests,
and Hungary does too.”
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