Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siarto rejected the possibility of banning Russian gas in the next package of European Union sanctions, saying it would be “impossible”.
Landlocked Hungary is extremely dependent on Russian hydrocarbons.
Siarto’s comments come when President Vladimir Putin says he believes the West will not be able to give up Russian oil and gas for several years.
The EU has tried to impose a total ban on Russian oil in an attempt to cripple Putin’s military machine over the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine. The bloc finally agreed late last month to a partial oil embargo on the long-delayed sixth package of sanctions against Russia.
The compromise will lead to a ban on Russian oil imported into the block by sea, with the exception of imports delivered by pipeline following opposition from Hungary.
Speaking to CNBC’s Charlotte Reid on Thursday on the sidelines of the OECD Council of Ministers in Paris, France, Siarto said: “When we impose sanctions, then we need to make sure that those sanctions hurt more those we impose sanctions on than myself.”
“We must have a very clear position on the war we have, we condemn Russia for this military aggression. We are with Ukraine. But we must also take into account the reality,” he added.
Siarto spoke of his disappointment that Hungary was presented as a country unwilling to punish the Russian war in Ukraine, pointing to the fact that Russia currently supplies 65% of Hungary’s oil and 85% of its gas supplies.
Hungary’s foreign minister said Russia currently supplies 65% of the country’s oil demand and 85% of gas supplies.
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He added that the lack of alternative infrastructure means the country cannot quickly reduce its dependence on Russian energy sources.
Shortly after the EU agreed to its sixth package of sanctions last month, Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas called on the bloc to go even further and discuss the prospect of a Russian gas embargo in its seventh round of measures.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechamer suddenly rejected the idea, saying it would not be a topic for discussion.
When Hungarian Siarto was asked about the EU’s prospect of focusing on Russian gas exports in its next round of sanctions, he replied: “No, it is impossible.”
“If you can’t import gas from Russia, then the country stops,” [the] the economy stops, we can’t heat the houses, we can’t run the economy. Our question is who can propose a solution? “He added.
Russia will not concrete over their oil wells
Putin said on Thursday that Russia would not “concrete over their oil wells” at a time when the West continues to rely on its energy sources, according to comments translated by the BBC.
“The volume of oil on the world market is declining, prices are rising,” he said. The company’s profits are rising.
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