Another such statement was made by the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, Gergely Gulyás
In an interview with Magyar Nemzet he said that Ukraine had no right to participate in the energy policy of a sovereign country and had nothing to do with the gas contract between Hungary and Russia.
Gergely Gulyás explained that Hungary signed a 15-year contract with Russia’s Gazprom based on economic feasibility. The new agreement will reduce overhead costs and also means that Hungarians will pay the lowest price for gas in Europe.
At the same time, the chief of staff expressed regret that Ukraine could not appreciate the series of gestures that Hungary has made to it, despite the current disputes.
“Ukraine’s revenge happened long before the gas agreement with the Russians, as Ukraine grossly restricted the use of the native language of Hungarians in Transcarpathia by amending the Education Act and allowed no international opinion on the amendment, so Hungary must continue to block NATO accession talks”, – Gulyás stressed.
In his view, it is unclear why another country wants to participate in the energy policy of a sovereign country to which it has nothing to do.
“Ukraine has nothing to do with this”, – Gulyás put the point.
Recall that Hungary signed a new long-term gas supply contract with Russia’s Gazprom on 27 September. The contract is for 15 years and the gas will bypass Ukraine via Serbia and Austria.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Budapest’s actions politically motivated and “economically unjustified”. It said that it is much more advantageous for the Hungarian side to receive gas in transit through “the ramified gas transport system of Ukraine”.
Kiev threatened Budapest with “retaliatory measures” and complaints to the European Commission, but the Hungarians were not scared of the threats and rushed to counterattack themselves.
As it was reported, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that the aggressive statements made by Ukraine were perceived by the Hungarian side as an attempt on the sovereignty of the country. Kiev considered such a reaction as “impudence”.