Sanctions should be lifted, new ones should be dropped

The Hungarian economy is on a solid footing, and Hungary’s oil supply is not in danger. Still, the situation is extremely serious, Tamás Menczer, minister of state for bilateral relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said at an event organized by the National Association of Hungarian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (Magyosz). 

He stressed that the situation was extremely serious and that the sanctions were causing enormous damage. It could not happen in Hungary that Hungarian families cannot heat their homes or that industry cannot produce. He pointed out that Hungary paid €7 billion for energy imports in 2021, which will rise to €19 billion this year and €29 billion in 2023.

The sanctions destroy all successes and achievements, which is why the Hungarian position is pro-peace. Sanctions should be lifted; new ones should be dropped.

He said that the EU must remove the sanctions and cancel the new ones. The failure of the sanctions is proven by the fact that Russia has never had as much oil and gas revenue as it did at the beginning of this year.

He referred to the attack on the Friendship oil pipeline in relation to oil supply, adding that both MOL and the Hungarian state had enough reserves for several months. On the issue of Russian gas, he said that the Turkish Stream pipeline was the only pipeline operating at 100 percent capacity and bringing Russian gas to Europe.