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Hungary’s exemption from the oil embargo is a sign that Orban has ties to Russia


The European Union’s long-delayed deal to embargo Russia’s oil, finalized late Monday, effectively exempts Hungary from the costly step the rest of the bloc is taking to punish it. penalize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

While Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, has opposed the week-long deal purely to protect his country’s economy, it is also the latest step in what has been announced. a turning point that lasted a decade about Hungary’s leadership for closer alignment with Russia, sometimes at the expense of relationships with other members of the European Union and NATO.

The pivot occurred despite deep suspicion in Hungary about Russian power and influence based on the Russian and Soviet military history of brutally suppressing Hungarian uprisings in 1848-49 and in 1956.

Mr. Orban, an unscrupulous leader who earlier in his career was a vocal critic of Moscow, speaks increasingly with admiration for the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, and the host brand. his nationalist sentiments, expressed sympathy for Putin’s security requirements for NATO. He also showed Hungary’s interests as distinct from the West’s by inciting culture wars and fearing the liberal values ​​that straddle Hungary’s borders, speaking in March of “the folly.” gender is spreading throughout the Western world.”

Under Monday’s deal, EU nations agreed to block Russian oil imports by sea, leaving Hungary’s supply intact because the country is blocked and receives oil by pipeline. The deal also includes a guarantee that if the pipeline fails – it runs through Ukraine – Hungary can buy Russian oil by other means without being accused of violating the European blockade.

“Hungary is exempt from the oil embargo!” Mr. Orban declare on his Facebook page on Monday. Earlier, he had said cutting off Russia’s oil was “the equivalent of an atomic bomb being dropped on the Hungarian economy.”

Hungary accounts for only a small fraction of Russian oil flows to the EU; The embargo would deprive Russia of billions of dollars in revenue despite Hungary continuing to import.

On the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, when other allies were warning of Russia’s military buildup near the border, Orban went to Moscow to reaffirm a deal on cheap Russian natural gas that helped him keep energy prices low in the country and maintain political support.

Since the war began, Hungary has been on the right track, joining the first rounds of sanctions against Russia and accepting Ukrainian refugees, while refusing to allow arms deliveries to Ukraine to pass through the country or continue. get more US troops. Mr. Orban re-elected in April for a fourth consecutive term despite criticism that he had ties to Mr. Putin, who publicly congratulated his victory.

Hungary is more dependent on Russian energy than other European nations, receiving about 80% of its gas from Russian state-run Gazprom and more than half of its oil from Russia. Russia has also invested heavily in the expansion of a nuclear power plant in the country, which produces about half of the country’s electricity.



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