RUSSIAN ENERGY FOR HUNGARY

BLOOMBERG - Mar 26, 2025 - Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has visited Russia so often since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that it’s raised suspicion among European diplomats. He’s back in Moscow today.

As Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s top envoy for the past 11 years and one-time spokesman, the 46-year old Szijjarto has become the face of Hungary’s pro-Russian policy, which has led to country’s frequent clashes with other European Union countries.

He’s been to Russia at least 13 times since the war began more than three years ago. The frequency has raised eyebrows among some European government officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and questioned their purpose.

Even foreign ministers of some of Moscow’s closest allies are not traveling to Russia with such regularity, while Western allies have severed links or drastically dialed back contact.

Hungary has gone the other way, leveraging its ties to Moscow for economic gain. It carved out exemptions from under EU sanctions on Russian oil and doubled down on natural gas purchases from Russia. Hungary is also pressing on with the Russia-led expansion of its sole nuclear power plant.

“Hungary’s and Russia’s energy cooperation has withstood the most difficult times,” Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Wednesday after meeting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak in Moscow.

He said that will allow Mol Nyrt., Hungary’s biggest refiner which has wells in Russia, to expand its footprint in the country.

The visit by the Orban loyalist comes hours after the US said Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, even as the Kremlin said its involvement would depend on a series of preconditions, including sanctions relief.

Orban has resisted helping Ukraine and called for the end of sanctions against Russia. Donald Trump’s return to the White House has only emboldened him and driven a deeper wedge in the EU.

For the second straight summit meeting earlier this month in Brussels, European leaders were resigned to move ahead without Budapest in pledging their support for Ukraine after efforts to win over Orban for an agreement of all 27 states failed.

Frequent Clashes

Szijjarto has become the face of Orban’s pro-Russian and increasingly anti-Western policy. He relishes in riling up other foreign ministers, calling out what he sees as the EU’s “extreme pro-war” stance for its commitment to maintain weapons supplies to help Ukraine repel Russia’s invasion.

After a March 17 meeting in Brussels, Szijjarto accused his German and Austrian counterparts of “ganging up” on him for criticism of Ukraine’s treatment of ethnic Hungarian minority — a long-held objection of Budapest which critics say the Hungarian government is using as a pretext to align itself with Russia.

Szijjarto, who also serves as Hungary’s trade minister, has been the point-person to attract foreign investment to Hungary, including from the US and Germany to Russia and South Korea.

With his outreach, Hungary has become a key hub in Europe for electric-vehicle production, attracting a clutch of Asian battery makers, China’s BYD Co. as well as German premium car makers.

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