BUDAPEST, April 11. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine and the EU of colluding to draw Hungary and Slovakia into the war against Russia by limiting their access to Russian natural gas.
The official made the statement following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.
"Due to Ukraine’s hostile actions, Hungary’s eastern gas supply route has essentially been cut off," Orban said in a video posted to X. "At the beginning of this year, the Ukrainians - colluding with Brussels bureaucrats - shut down the major European gas pipeline running through their territory. This is their way of putting pressure on Slovakia and us trying to force us into the Russia-Ukraine war."
"That’s why instead of the east, we must now source our energy from the south, and in this Turkey is a crucial partner. Without the Turkish Stream, Hungary’s secure energy supply would be unthinkable, and we wouldn’t be able to maintain our utility cost reduction program," he went on to say, referring to an underwater pipeline connecting Russia and Turkey across the Black Sea, a link that’s also known as TurkStream.
"The pressure persists -Brussels still wants to break the Hungarians. Our job is to defend the interests of the Hungarian people and resist the blackmail. In this, Turkey is an essential partner," the prime minister continued.
According to Orban, economic cooperation between the two countries is expanding in many areas and its value has exceeded $4 billion.
Ukraine stopped transit of Russian natural gas through its pipeline system on January 1, meaning Hungary and Slovakia could no longer rely on the route for their energy supplies. Both governments said the Ukrainian actions were unfriendly and put Central Europe in a difficult situation. The hopes that Budapest and Bratislava will be able to enlist the support of Brussels and convince Kiev to resume transit did not materialize.
