Hungary strikes deal to buy 700 million cubic meters gas from Russia despite EU sanctions

Hungary on July 28 announced that it has struck a deal with Russia to purchase nearly 700 million cubic meters gas after the European nation catalysed its near-total exemption from the EU's Russian trade embargo and package of sanctions. Speaking to radio station Kossuth, Russian president Vladimir Putin's Hungarian ally, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said that Budapest will continue the gas shipments that will be arriving to Budapest without disruptions, having earlier labelled the European Union energy ministers' proposal for gas consumption reduction as "unenforceable" and "unjustifiable." 

"We are still negotiating with the Russians to get an additional 700 million cubic meters of gas," he said, noting that an agreement would be reached in the summer of 2022," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the radio station. 

New negotiation on gas imports from Russia

In a separate statement to Moscow's state affiliated Tass, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary Péter Szijjarto notified that the Hungarian govenrment had already kick started a new negotiation on gas imports from the Russian Federation. “We cannot force the Hungarian people to pay the price of this war. That is why we do not approve of sanctions on oil or natural gas against Russia,' Szijjarto had also earlier asserted. While Hungary supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, it will not heed EU led sanctions that "completely ignore the interests" of Hungarians, he had furthermore clarified, labelling the proposal on cutting off Russian energy reliance as "useless" or "harmful." 

As Hungrary prepared to purchase additonal 700 million cubic meters supply of gas from Moscow, it iterated the need to ensure its own energy security ahead of the upcoming harsh winters. Orban, a steadfast ally of Russia's president Vladimir Putin, had also advised European Union to reconsider its decision of halting Russian gas import, stressing that such a move would “destroy EU’s economy.”  He had spent nearly 26 days obstructing the EU’s proposed ban before it was formally approved, and had later sought an exemption from the Russian oil ban implemented by the bloc. Budapest, the European nation that holds pragmatic relations with the Russian Federation had clarified that it has been against EU's oil ban as it is one of most heavily Russian energy reliant and does not have a forthcoming strategy as an alternative.