Page 48 - BNE_magazine_12_2019 dec19

48 I Central Europe bne December 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Hungary to meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orban to talk gas and trade
Warm relations between Budapest and Moscow confirmed at Putin's latest Hungary visit
every year in political and economic relations” with Moscow, according to newswire reports.
Orban also talked of Hungary’s position in a regional context “in the triangle between Moscow, Berlin and Istanbul” – with no mention of Brussels.
“Hungarian policies are aimed at Hungarian success and good relations with those countries that play a decisive role for us in this region,” he said.
"It's a simple geographical fact: No country can change its address.”
According to a statement from the Kremlin, a package of agreements was signed after the meeting between the two leaders, including a “plan
of measures on implementing
a comprehensive programme of Russian-Hungarian interregional cooperation and a treaty between the Russian Federation and Hungary on social security”.
In the energy sector, which has been an important part of Hungarian-Russian cooperation, the two sides signed several agreements on cooperation between Russian oil companies Lukoil and Transneft and Hungary’s MOL Group. Implementing these agreements will make it possible to increase Russian fuel exports to Hungary via the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline until 2025, Putin said following the talks.
According to Reuters, the two sides signed the first major settlement deal for contaminated Russian oil supplies shipped through the pipeline to Central Europe earlier this year. Transneft has promised to compensate refiners in
the region.
The talks covered the Turkish Stream pipeline that will bring Russian gas
bne IntelliNews
Russian President Vladimir
Putin arrived in Hungary for
a working visit on October 30 that was expected to focus on energy although the Kremlin said ahead of the meeting that talks would cover the “full range of issues of Russian-Hungarian interaction”.
"During the talks, the parties are to discuss the, first and foremost, in the commercial and economic and cultural and humanitarian sectors, as well as to exchange views on a number of relevant international and regional matters," the Kremlin’s press service said before the trip.
Despite the sanctions imposed by the EU and other Western nations over Russia’s annexation of the Crimea,
www.bne.eu
Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have met at least once a year in the last five years.
Hungary’s illiberal prime minister – who like Putin has criticised the “liberal values” espoused by the EU – has pushed for fellow EU members to ease sanctions on Russia.
After talks with Putin, Orban defended his ties with Russia and said that Hungary aimed to “take a step forward
“Hungarian policies are aimed at Hungarian success and good relations with those countries that play a decisive role for us in this region”