The Prime Minister of Hungary, Péter Magyar, stated this Thursday that the European Union "will buy Russian gas again" when the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began more than four years ago, concludes, and expressed his willingness to "open a new chapter in relations with Kyiv."
In statements to the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita during his official visit to Poland, Magyar stressed that, before moving towards an improvement of ties with Ukraine, it is essential to guarantee that the "Hungarian minority residing in the country has the most basic rights."
Addressing the energy issue, he maintained that "competitiveness and geography" will set the course, arguing that Russian gas "is cheaper than liquefied gas arriving through the Baltic Sea" and emphasizing that "the EU will have to return to it." In this context, he recalled that "Russia will remain where it is today."
Following his recent electoral victory, Magyar explained that he "has received the mandate from the Hungarian people to achieve the goal of diversifying the country's energy sources as much as possible," with special emphasis on "supply security."
The Hungarian leader also insisted on the need to consider "the initial price of the commodity," stating that "liquefied gas coming from the Baltic and passing through Poland and Slovakia is significantly more expensive than gas imported from Romania, Russia, or Austria." In this regard, he announced that, "of course, we will initiate conversations and we will work together" to explore different supply routes.
Magyar explained that the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, told him that he "will do everything possible to reduce the price so that the offer is as competitive as possible," although he warned that "this does not depend only on Poland but also on the United States and the market." Despite this, he stressed that Budapest "would still be happy to have several sources of supply because that guarantees greater security."
In this framework, he predicted that "European policy will change substantially once the war ends" and expressed his desire for the conflict to end soon: "Let's hope this happens quickly. We need to be competitive, and for that, low prices are essential, but I am pragmatic about it and I understand the criticism," he concluded.