Hungary raises questions on EU's oil embargo plan; avers EU 'should not hide the truth'

Amid the ongoing war and subsequent energy crisis that rose after European Union sanctions, Hungary believes the EU officials must acknowledge the reality of their dependence on Russian oil. The staunch statement from Hungary came after its Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, landed in Moscow and met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday. Notably, Szijjarto's Russia tour was majorly concentrated on gaining more energy supply from Moscow. Meanwhile, while briefing media on Thursday, Szijjarto said that the EU should be truthful about the realities of the gas supply from Russia, rather than treating it as an ideological matter, RT World reported. According to the Hungarian minister, the purchase of natural gas "is not an ideological issue", but a "physical issue" that cannot be solved by talking. 

Citing the recent panic alarm raised by Germany following a 10-day pause by the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline, Szijjarto raised questions over the planning of the 27-nation bloc. "Why has Berlin facing issues in meeting their country's demand, if the EU is working to solve the crisis? he asked. "I’ll be frank: I’ve been hearing from leading politicians in Western Europe in recent months that they’ve gotten it all sorted out. They have found alternative sources, they have bought gas from elsewhere, and they have gotten rid of their dependence on Russia. So why the alarm?" he said.

EU vows to reduce its dependence on Russian gas

It is crucial to note here that ever since the union announced a partial embargo on Russian oil, its intention to decrease its dependency on Russian energy seems in trouble. The European countries at first approached the Gulf nations to meet their demands but after facing failure in securing a deal with the Gulf nations, they turned towards the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions. Notably, Europe depends on Russia for roughly 40% of its natural gas needs. Currently, the European leaders have vowed to reduce their dependence by two-thirds.

Earlier in April, the European leaders approached the gas and oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members to avert any energy crisis after limiting its dependency on Russian energy resources. The European leaders asked the GCC to increase the production of hydrocarbon. However, GCC reportedly denied delivering the need saying constraints in production and the fact that most of their future production is locked in long-term contracts with Asian clients. On the other hand, several countries like Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, are enjoying cap free supply of Russian oil, despite being an EU members. 

Image: AP/Twitter/@mfa_russia