Orban: Western cooperation with Russia in Hungary’s interest
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary’s interest lies in the improvement of cooperation between the West and Russia. He spoke at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest on Wednesday.
Published: November 1, 2019, 9:12 am
Hungary benefits from good relations between western and eastern Europe, NATO, and Russia, the prime minister said. Hungary and Russia have been busy organising high-level summits for reviewing the state of bilateral relations, he added.
Other subjects on the agenda included the Ukraine crisis, Syria, energy supply routes, as well as ways to consolidate Russia-EU relations.
Orban said 2018 had been the first year trade turnover between the two countries had increased since the sanctions against Russia were imposed, exceeding 6 billion dollars. Hungary aims to produce goods it can sell on the Russian market, he explained, noting that Hungary has already launched investment projects in Russia’s meat industry as well as animal health and pharmaceutical sectors.
He said Hungarian-Russian cooperation did not exclude his country from being a member of both NATO and the European Union.
Orban underscored the protection of persecuted Christian communities and the issue of migration as key areas of bilateral cooperation. On migration, Orban said there were 96 000 migrants making their way to northern Europe via the Balkan migration route, which he said was a problem for Hungary.
He added that Hungary and Russia were also cooperating in their efforts to advance the stabilisation of the Middle East and Syria. If the region becomes unstable it will trigger another exodus of migrants towards Europe.
Asked about the protection of Middle Eastern Christian communities, Orban said Hungarians had a duty to aid Christian communities in need outside their country. Together with Russia, Hungary rebuilds churches and constructs factories that can help feed local communities, he said. In addition, Hungary builds schools and hospitals and rebuilds villages where displaced people can return to, the prime minister said.
President Putin thanked Orban for the latter’s proposing a meeting with Middle East religious leaders in Budapest, during his visit. He said that Russia was in close cooperation with countries in the region with a view to helping persecuted Christians, as well as providing humanitarian aid to Muslims in Syria.
He said this form of bilateral cooperation also extended to the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, noting that Hungary has supported Erbil with troops, financial aid and by training local soldiers.
Asked about Hungary’s decision to veto a joint declaration of NATO ambassadors on Ukraine, Orban noted the dispute in question was about the discrimination against and mistreatment of Transcarpathian Hungarians by the Ukrainian government.
Hungary said any document should at the very least contain a declaration from Ukraine stating that it was ready to accept the motions put forward by the Venice Commission on minority rights. If this was not included in the document, Orban said, Hungary could not sign it as it would be akin to giving up the European rights Transcarpathian Hungarians were entitled to.
Orban expressed hope that the situation of Transcarpathian Hungarians would improve under Ukraine’s new government, which he said was ready to hold talks on the matter. The prime minister also said that whenever Hungary voices its position on Ukraine, it does not do so because of its relationship with Russia, but rather out of its own national interests.
Asked about the possibility of Hungary joining the TurkStream gas pipeline, Orban said the TurkStream pipeline was “a preference, the sooner we can join, the better”.
Hungary wanted to enjoy sovereignty not just in terms of its energy supply but also with regard to the transit countries. If Hungary only receives gas from Russia via Ukraine, “it is bad from the point of view of Hungary’s sovereignty” he explained.
The Russian leader pointed out that completion of the TurkStream gas pipeline was in Hungary’s interest, as that facility would contribute to ensuring Hungary’s energy security. The pipeline’s Black Sea section is expected to be completed before the end of this year, he added.
Russia considers Hungary an important partner in supplying gas to Europe, Putin said. The mechanism allowing Hungary and Russia to cooperate at the highest level has been in place for several years now and has been successful, especially when it comes to trade and economic relations, Putin noted.
The two countries are looking to diversify their relations, the president said, even though energy policy was still their top priority. Putin echoed Orban in saying that 2018 saw a jump in bilateral trade and added that the two countries were working to further increase its turnover.
Parties at the Budapest talks signed an important package of agreements, which will further deepen ties between Hungary and Russia, Putin said. One of those accords will facilitate increasing the volume of Russian energy exports, he added.
The Russian president said he attributed great significance to Hungary’s Paks upgrade project and added that the talks touched on other joint projects such as Hungary’s inland navigation and renovation of Budapest’s metro lines.
Answering a question about Ukraine, Putin said it was questionable if the Ukrainian leadership could manage the situation in eastern Ukraine, adding that Russia was ready to participate in talks aimed at resolving the problems.
Before the press conference, Hungarian and Russian officials signed eight agreements. These included a complex scheme on Hungarian-Russian interregional cooperation, an agreement on social security as well as memorandums of understanding on cooperation in the fields of oncology, sports, physical education and rail transport.
The two sides also signed a reinsurance agreement between Hungary’s Eximbank and Russia’s Exiar, a cooperation pact between Hungary’s Gyor-Moson-Sopron County and Russia’s Samara County and a cooperation agreement between oil and gas company MOL and Russian companies Lukoil and Transneft.
Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto earlier said that Russian gas deliveries to Hungary through the TurkStream pipeline could start in the second half of 2021.
In an interview with Russian state TV broadcaster Rossiya 24 in March, the Hungarian foreign minister said that Hungary considered Russian energy investments in Serbia and Bulgaria highly significant since Russia and Ukraine have not yet managed to agree on transit deliveries to Europe.
“Hungary will realise the minimal infrastructure projects required for this in such a way that the physical opportunity for the use of the new route will already be available at the beginning of next year,” the foreign minister noted about the extension of TurkStream.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
The Ursula von der Leyen Affair
After a criminal complaint in Belgium against the President of the European Commission, the so-called SMS-case, now takes a new turn. The judge responsible for the investigation will likely gain access to the secret messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, at least if they haven't been deleted.
Publisher of Unique Literature Worldwide Blocked by International Distributor
Arktos has distinguished itself by publishing groundbreaking philosophers and social critics. Now, the publisher's international distributor has abruptly terminated the cooperation, and more than 400 already printed titles cannot reach their audience. There is strong evidence that the distributor has been under pressure, something that has also happened in Sweden. We have spoken with Arktos founder Daniel Friberg about the ongoing struggle for freedom of speech in a shrinking cultural corridor.
Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology
The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.