Trump and Orbán spoke on phone, discussed Russian oil – Szijjártó

A few hours ago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke on the phone with US President Donald Trump. They discussed several issues, including the status of the war, the potential for peace, global economic trends, the situation created by the tariffs, and, of course, the matter of Central Europe’s energy supply, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó said in New York.

Szijjártó made the statement after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the UN General Assembly in New York, but he gave no details about what Viktor Orbán discussed with Donald Trump on the issue of Hungary's energy supply

The question is pertinent because on Tuesday, when Trump was asked what he thought about Hungary continuing to buy Russian oil, the US President replied that the best way to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to change his mind would be through persuading him personally. “He is a friend of mine. I have not spoken to him, but I have a feeling if I did, he might stop. And I think I’ll be doing that," Trump said at the time.

However on both Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday evening, Szijjártó argued that buying Russian energy sources is not an ideological issue for Hungary, but a geographical one. He said that in his meeting with Lavrov, they had also reviewed the two countries’ cooperation on energy. Russia is a reliable partner of ours, and

"The situation in Central Europe right now is such that, for geographical and physical reasons, Hungary's energy security cannot be guaranteed without energy sources from Russia. This is not a matter of politics or ideology, but simply a matter of geography and physics."

Szijjártó added that they are also in regular contact with the US administration.

He also noted that Hungary is committed to peace and is interested in seeing a peaceful resolution in our neighborhood as soon as possible. According to Szijjártó, Lavrov also consulted with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which he believes is the best possible outcome, since as long as high-level US-Russian talks are ongoing, "we can trust that there will be peace, and we can be hopeful that the worst-case scenario, namely the outbreak of World War III, can be avoided."