Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Friday that Russia would be reintegrated into the global economy and the European energy system once a peace agreement is reached and the Ukraine conflict ends, according to the Kossuth Rádió.
The US and its allies have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, aiming to isolate the country, cut it off from the Western financial system and freeze its foreign reserves.
Following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022, many EU member states began to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US. According to the Russian Energy Ministry, this fuel is between 20 and 40 percent more expensive.
Despite the restrictions, Budapest has maintained its connections with Russia. In his usual Friday interview with the public radio, Orbán noted that the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had increased the chances of resolving the crisis.
“If I had to comment in one word, I would say: Hallelujah. That’s what we’ve been waiting for” he praised.
Orbán’s remarks came after the phone call between Trump and Putin, in which the two leaders agreed to start negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
“If the US President comes, peace is made and there’s a deal, I believe that Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy. into the European security system and even the European economic and energy system, which would give a massive boost to the Hungarian economy” Orbán said.
The Hungarian state leader has consistently been a vocal critic of the sanctions against Moscow and the financial and military support provided to Kiev by the West. Orbán reiterated that Hungary has long been calling for the lifting of the sanctions against Russia and warned that they weaken the EU’s economy and drive energy prices up.
Orbán also stated that integrating Russia into the global economy and the EU’s security and energy system would create a “massive opportunity” for Hungary. His government has continued to work with Moscow on energy resources and has secured long-term contracts for natural gas imports.
Moscow has consistently condemned the Western sanctions as illegal and has highlighted that it has not been possible to destabilize the Russian economy or cut it off from the global financial system.
Meanwhile, a number of Western politicians have admitted that they have been wrong and that the economic distortions in the EU have been triggered by the sanctions. In January, Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of the Left, warned that the sanctions would “kill” the German economy, while benefiting the US economy. Austrian MP Axel Kassegger, whose country still relies on 80 percent of Russian gas deliveries, warned last year that ending energy ties with Moscow would multiply gas prices and lead to a surge in inflation. Former German MP Gunnar Beck also stated that the economic consequences of the sanctions had hit the EU harder than Moscow.