Hungary defends Russian oil purchases, accuses EU states of hidden imports

Budapest, Sep 6 (IANS) Hungary purchases openly Russian oil because it has no alternatives, while some other European countries are secretly importing the same crude through intermediaries at lower prices, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said here.

"Let us not be misled by the hypocrites, because among those who shout the loudest at Hungary and Slovakia over their oil purchases, there are a significant number who also buy Russian oil, only indirectly, through certain Asian countries," Szijjarto told reporters on Friday at a press conference following a meeting of the Hungary-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Committee.

"Hungary cooperates with Russia on supply security, explaining that the European Union rejected our request for help in increasing the capacity of gas pipelines in Southeast Europe, and Croatia did not increase the capacity of the alternative pipeline that leads to us, but increased the transit fee for transporting to five times the level, exceeding European benchmarks," the Minister added.

The Minister was responding to a question about US President Donald Trump's recent call for European nations to stop importing Russian oil, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said those criticising Hungary and Slovakia for continuing purchases were themselves involved in similar transactions through indirect channels.

"They do this to buy cheaper oil. They buy Russian oil secretly because it is cheaper. We buy Russian oil openly because we have no other option," he added.

Szijjarto stressed Hungary's energy supply depends on physical infrastructure, as oil and gas can only be delivered through existing pipelines.

He noted that the European Union had declined Hungary's request to expand Southeast European pipeline capacities, while Hungary's southern neighbor, Croatia, increased transit fees instead of enlarging capacity on an alternative route.

Earlier, Szijjarto announced that Budapest will refuse to back the launch of the first cluster of accession negotiations on Ukraine's path toward European Union membership.

On September 4 it became known that Trump, during a virtual meeting with the leaders of Ukraine and the EU, said that Europe is financing the war through purchases of Russian fuel.

The US urged the EU to increase economic pressure on Russia, noting that over the last year Russia received about 1.1 billion euros from the EU for fuel sales.

The European Commission, as part of REPowerEU, is betting on full diversification of supplies and reducing dependence on Russian gas and oil by 2027.

The plan envisages joint procurement mechanisms, negotiations with suppliers, and measures to transition to renewable energy by 2030, with an expected share of renewable sources in the future energy balance.

Slovakia and Hungary voiced opposition to the REPowerEU concept.

Indeed, in July 2025 Slovakia blocked the adoption of the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia through REPowerEU, saying that it threatened the country’s economy and energy security.

--IANS

int/khz