(ANSA) – BERLIN, 01 FEB – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meets Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Moscow in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis: a visit criticized by the Hungarian democratic opposition, and viewed with distrust by Europe.
This is the eleventh meeting between the two leaders since 2010 – since Orban came to power in Budapest – and in recent years Orban has built a special relationship with Russia. For example, Hungary is currently the only country in the East that has refused the sending of NATO troops in the Ukrainian emergency, proposed by American President Joe Biden.
Budapest also supports Moscow in consideration of the situation of the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine (around 200,000 people). “We don’t want a new cold war, we prefer a diplomatic solution,” said Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
According to the allied opposition, which challenges Orban in the next elections on 3 April, the premier, with his policy, “encourages Putin and aggravates the crisis situation”. “This visit is harmful to Hungarian security and national interest,” they stressed in a statement. In recent years, Hungary has signed a contract, which is still partly secret, for the construction of a nuclear power plant thanks to a Russian credit, judged by some experts to be disadvantageous for Hungary. It also concluded an agreement with Russia for the supply of gas: 4.5 billion cubic meters per year, bypassing Ukraine.
Before leaving for Moscow, Orban said he wanted to increase the amount of energy imports. Hungary is also the first European country to have used the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, not recognized by the European Agency (EMA), and intends to build a plant to produce it in its own home.
(HANDLE).
Source: Ansa
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