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| As a European member tries to salvage relations with Russia, the EU plans to use its bargaining chip. In the photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reaffirmed their relationship during a meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum in China. (Source: Reuters) |
The meeting took place at the State Guesthouse where President Putin is staying, before attending the third BRF Forum of China. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his “closest ally” among European Union (EU) leaders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, reaffirmed their commitment to bilateral relations amid international tensions over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Quite apart from its fellow members, Hungary – which has opposed many EU initiatives to support Ukraine against Russia and still receives most of its oil and gas from Moscow – “has never wanted to antagonize Russia, but on the contrary is trying to salvage bilateral ties amid growing international tensions,” Prime Minister Orban told Russian leader Putin on the sidelines of the forum in Beijing.
In response, the Russian President told Mr. Orban: “In the current geopolitical conditions, the opportunities to maintain contact and develop relations are very limited, however, he is pleased that relations with a number of European countries are still maintained and developing. One of these countries is Hungary.”
Hungary has built closer ties with Russia than other EU members. The European member is now considered a “potentially important rival” in a decision expected in December on whether to open accession talks with Kiev, a decision that would require the support and consensus of all 27 members of the bloc.
Meanwhile, the EU is considering a compromise with Hungary to clear the way for aid to Ukraine. In an effort to win Budapest’s approval for more aid to Kiev and to start accession talks, senior officials said Brussels is considering releasing billions of euros in recovery and development funds for Hungary that have been frozen over concerns about its judicial independence.
The aid being discussed is estimated at around 13 billion euros ($13.6 billion), which could help Prime Minister Orban partly improve the economic stagnation and budget deficit his country is facing.
Because of its close ties with Russia, Hungary is seen as the biggest obstacle to two important EU decisions: negotiating membership for Kiev and demanding that member states contribute more to the bloc’s common fund, which would increase aid to Ukraine. And the above-mentioned disbursement review is the EU’s latest attempt to get Budapest to “nod”. Both of these important issues are expected to be voted on by the end of 2023.
In an emailed response to Reuters , Prime Minister Orban's press manager, Bertalan Havasi, said the Hungarian leader and Russian President Putin discussed gas and oil transportation and nuclear energy issues.
Under a 2014 contract awarded without tender, Russian energy giant Rosatom is building a nuclear power plant in Hungary.
Prime Minister Orban once again stressed that “it is important for Europe, including Hungary, to end sanctions against Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as to stop the flow of refugees,” Havasi said.
Putin and Orban last spoke face-to-face on February 1, 2022, in a meeting that lasted several hours in Moscow, exactly three weeks before Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
In related Russian energy news, two other European countries, Germany and the UK, recently believed that even if Moscow ends the conflict in Ukraine and even has a regime change, trade relations between Europe and Russia will not be restored.
At the Energy Intelligence Forum in London on October 18, German Ambassador to the UK Miguel Berger said, “This is the end of the relationship.”
Europe has been cutting back on its dependence on Russian energy since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, according to Bloomberg . The region banned coal and oil imports from Russia last year. Natural gas supplies have also been significantly reduced, with the Nord Stream pipeline first halted by Russia and then destroyed by explosions under the Baltic Sea.
Russia now contributes less than 10% of the region's energy supplies, compared with more than a third before the conflict.
For the UK, that's not a huge change, as Russia only supplied 4% of its gas and 9% of its oil in 2021.
But for Germany, this is a major upheaval, depriving the country of about half its gas supply. The situation is therefore “very challenging” as high gas prices are putting pressure on the German government and its industry.
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