““Ukraine will be ready to take a vacant seat in the EU and NATO if Hungary decides to vacate it in favor of membership in the CIS or CSTO,” added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to the report, such claims are “part of a politically motivated information campaign for domestic consumption.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs points to the statement of the European Commission from January 1, according to which Ukraine’s decision did not have a negative impact on the energy security of the EU countries and on consumer prices on the European market.
“The only cause of problems on the European energy market has always been Russia. For decades, the Kremlin has used energy as a weapon, blackmailing European governments and undermining energy security. With the start of full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Russia has become an existential threat to stability and peace on the European continent. As a result, the era of Europe’s dependence on Russian energy carriers is coming to an end,” the department says.
Read also: “We will stay in touch”: the European Commission on the notification regarding the cancellation of gas consultations with Ukraine and Slovakia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds that the EU authorities and European governments are working together to diversify sources of supply and “all European countries” have found sources of alternative energy carriers from the United States and the countries of the Middle East:
“Only two of the twenty-seven EU countries failed to cope with this task, and now they are trying to transfer their problems from a sick head to a healthy one. In addition, by trying, contrary to common sense, to maintain dependence on Russia, they are also actually preventing access to the European energy market from the US and other partners.”
The agency adds that, if the priority for Budapest is the strengthening of Russia, and not the European Union and the USA, then “it should be frankly recognized.”
“Ukraine will be ready to take a vacant seat in the EU and NATO if Hungary decides to vacate it in favor of membership in the CIS or CSTO. If Hungary really wants to help end the war, it should start by not destroying unity in the EU, and instead strengthen the energy security and independence of its own country and citizens together with the rest of Europe and the US,” the ministry added.
Read also: Consultations in Brussels on the suspension of gas transit from the Russian Federation through Ukraine have been canceled – the government of Slovakia
The day before, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijarto, said that Ukraine has put the European Union in a difficult economic situation by stopping the transit of Russian gas.
Ukraine stopped the transportation of Russian natural gas through its territory on January 1 at 07:00 “in the interests of national security”.
The main European importers of Russian gas, Slovakia and Austria, have already secured alternative supply routes, although Fico said there would be “dramatic consequences” for the entire European Union, demanding the resumption of transit. If this does not happen, the Slovak prime minister did not rule out stopping the export of electricity to Ukraine and reducing aid to Ukrainian refugees, of whom there are about 130,000 in Slovakia.
Hungary, in the person of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Head of Diplomacy Peter Siyart, has repeatedly demonstrated its favorable attitude towards the Kremlin. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Budapest has been making statements that contradict the EU’s general position of support for Ukraine.