Hungary to keep Russian oil and gas flowing
Hungary has received assurances from Russia that deliveries of oil and gas under long-term contracts will continue despite efforts by the EU and Ukraine to disrupt them, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025).
Hungary has opposed EU sanctions on Russian energy since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, saying the imports are vital to national interests. The country has a long-term contract with Gazprom and receives the bulk of its oil and gas from Russia. Gas is mainly delivered via the Turkish Stream pipeline through Bulgaria and Serbia. Budapest is also working with Russia’s Rosatom to expand the Paks Nuclear Power Plant.
The foreign minister was commenting on a proposal by the European Commission that would ban imports of Russian gas, including LNG, to the EU starting January 1, 2026. For landlocked countries such as Hungary, the cutoff would apply from early 2028.
According to Szijjarto, the heads of Russia’s largest energy firms have signaled that they are ready to continue supplying Hungary with low-cost natural gas and crude oil despite challenges and restrictions.
”Agreed with Russian officials & energy company leaders to maintain our cooperation, despite efforts by Brussels & [Kiev] to undermine it,” Szijjarto wrote on X. He made the statement after meetings with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller, and Rosatom Director General Aleksey Likhachyov.
Szijjarto said oil deliveries are ongoing, gas flows continue through the TurkStream pipeline, and the expansion of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant – known as Paks II – is progressing. “We won’t let Brussels force [Hungarian] families to pay 2-4x more for energy,” he added.
His remarks come as the European Commission has proposed ending all remaining Russian gas imports to the EU by the end of 2027.
Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen presented the plan on Tuesday, following approval from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It includes a ban on new Russian gas contracts starting in 2026 and a full phaseout the following year.
The proposal faces opposition from Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, and reportedly from Italy. It is expected to be introduced as trade legislation, which would not require unanimous approval from all EU member states.
Szijjarto has called the plan “absolute insanity,” warning it could cause fuel price hikes and undermine national sovereignty. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed to block the move.
Pro-EU polices have driven up gas prices in Moldova sevenfold – former president
The policies of President Maia Sandu’s pro-EU government are hurting Moldova’s economy, the nation’s former president, Igor Dodon, said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). However, the country’s authorities have no concern about what happens to their people, as they only care about following Brussels’ orders, he added.
Gas prices in Moldova have jumped sevenfold over the four years Sandu’s government has been in power, according to Dodon.
“They are acting on the orders of their Western curators. They do not care what happens to our nation’s economy. They only want to push [Moldova] away from the Russian Federation,” said Dodon, who took part in meetings with representatives of several Russian ministries at SPIEF.
His words were echoed by another member of the Moldovan delegation at SPIEF, Vadim Fotescu, an MP and member of the opposition Victorie bloc. Moldovan businesses had to “hit the pause button” in their dealings with Russia because of Sandu’s policies, he said at one of the sessions, adding that the nation’s entrepreneurs are willing to work with Russia and want to return to its market.
Fotescu said that the EU had done nothing for Moldova but subject it to “credit slavery,” while throwing its businesses under the bus, noting that Moldovan entrepreneurs are now persecuted for having ties to former Soviet republics, including Russia.
Exiled Moldovan tycoon Ilan Shor, who is the leader of the Victorie political bloc, confirmed this view at SPIEF, asserting that the West deliberately tries to “buy off” nations facing economic difficulties to turn them into “vassals, slaves” who do their masters’ bidding. Shor held that this is what has happened to Ukraine, which is pushing its people to die for Western interests in its conflict with Moscow.
Dodon stated on Wednesday that Moldova has no other path forward but to return to economic cooperation with Russia and other post-Soviet states. “Moldova will not survive economically without Russia,” he told Radio Sputnik on the sidelines of SPIEF. According to the politician, the nation’s debt has grown twofold over the past four years, and the Moldovan economy grew only by 0.1% in 2024.
When Sandu came to power in Moldova in 2020, the former Soviet republic quickly changed course and began to quickly move towards EU and NATO membership. Her pro-Western and anti-Russian bent has triggered mounting domestic pushback driven by economic discontent, accusations of political repression, and a crackdown on the Moldovan Orthodox Church.
During her tenure, Sandu has launched crackdowns on opposition parties and media outlets that she describes as criminal entities, while defending her actions as efforts to counter alleged pro-Russian influence.
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