Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó (center), U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (left), and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (right) at their meeting in Washington
At a time of global energy policy tensions, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó is sending a clear message from the U.S. for Budapest: energy supply is not a question of ideology, but one of physics and mathematics. At the Transatlantic Natural Gas Symposium, the politician emphasized that Hungary would not sacrifice its proven, cost-effective energy sources for more expensive alternatives.
In his speech, Péter Szijjártó pointed out that the energy policy of a landlocked country like Hungary depends largely on existing infrastructure. “If there is no pipeline, there is no natural gas. It is that simple,” the minister clarified. Hungary already has infrastructure links with six of its seven neighboring countries, but remains dependent on them to invest in their networks, he explained.
The chief diplomat particularly praised the stance taken by his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio.
Péter Szijjártó described the U.S. Secretary of State’s recognition of the importance of geographical conditions in energy issues as “refreshing” – an understanding that he often finds lacking in Europe.
Thanks to an exemption from sanctions against the Russian energy sector granted by Donald Trump last year, Hungary was also able to successfully avert a supply crisis.
Although Hungary is committed to diversification, the minister redefined the term. In his view, diversification means incorporating additional sources and routes, not excluding existing ones.
“We will not trade cheap and reliable sources for more expensive and less reliable ones,”
said the politician. This is particularly necessary in order to maintain the Hungarian model of reducing ancillary costs. Although the “Vertical Corridor” is seen as an option, capacities are currently insufficient and delivery prices are around 20 percent higher than via the TurkStream pipeline, for example, he explained.
In Washington, Péter Szijjártó painted a picture of a new golden era in Hungarian-American relations. In addition to talks on natural gas supplies with U.S. giants such as energy giants Chevron and ConocoPhillips, the focus is primarily on nuclear cooperation.
In meetings with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, it became clear that the U.S. has a keen interest in expanding Hungary’s nuclear power capacity.
Here in America, there is a complete understanding that a country wants to source from multiple sources. The issue is approached pragmatically, not ideologically,”
Péter Szijjártó praised.
Budapest is also pushing ahead with expansion at the regional level. Together with Serbia, the construction of a new oil pipeline is to be accelerated, the minister announced on his social media page. Once the Hungarian energy company MOL has completed its purchase of the Serbian oil company NIS, the markets of Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia are to act in a coordinated manner.
The aim is to strengthen resilience to “political blackmail following the Ukrainian model.”
Hungary is positioning itself as a pragmatic player, maneuvering between the major powers to guarantee its own security of supply and low prices for the population. The signs in Washington point to a strengthened technical and economic alliance that deliberately sets itself apart from the “European mainstream.”
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Via MTI; Featured image: MTI/KKM
The post Energy Security Through Diversification Without Compromise Is the Focus of Talks in Washington appeared first on Hungary Today.
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