Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said Hungary's interest lies in the improvement of cooperation between the West and Russia.
During a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, the Prime Minister highlighted that if Hungary’s relations between western and eastern Europe, NATO, and Russia are good, the country benefits.
In order to help achieve this goal, the Prime Minister noted that Hungary and Russia have been organizing high-level summits for reviewing the state of bilateral relations for a number of years now.
PM Orbán revealed that 2018 had been the first year trade turnover between the two countries had increased since the sanctions against Russia were imposed, exceeding USD 6 billion.
Meanwhile, President Putin said Russia considers Hungary an important partner in supplying gas to Europe. He added that the mechanism allowing Hungary and Russia to cooperate at the highest level has been in place for several years and has been successful, especially when it comes to trade and economic relations.
The Russian President said the two countries are now looking to diversify their relations. He added that the area of energy will still be the two countries’ top priority.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary wants to strike deals on Russian investments and aims to produce goods it can sell on the Russian market. He added that Hungary has already launched investment projects in Russia’s meat industry as well as animal health and pharmaceutical sectors.
PM Orbán also highlighted the protection of persecuted Christian communities and the issue of migration as key areas of bilateral cooperation. Concerning migration, PM Orbán said there were 96,000 migrants making their way to northern Europe via the Balkan migration route, which he said was a cause for concern for Hungary, forcing it to protect its borders.
PM Orbán said Hungarians had a duty to aid Christian communities in need outside their country. Together with Russia, Hungary rebuilds churches and constructs factories that can help feed local communities, he said. In addition, Hungary builds schools and hospitals and rebuilds villages where displaced people can return.
The Prime Minister added that Hungary and Russia were also cooperating in their efforts to advance the stabilization of the Middle East. He said that if the region becomes unstable it will trigger an exodus of migrants towards Europe, adding that Hungary was interested in political stability in the Middle East and Syria.
Photo credit: Origo