Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s statement on Facebook after a video conference held in preparation for an informal meeting of the European Council
9 March 2022, Budapest

This week diplomacy has been in full swing. The other Central European prime ministers and I had talks in London yesterday, we had talks with the President of the European Council today, and all the heads of state and government of the EU countries will meet in Paris tomorrow. Our efforts are focused on the restoration of peace, but we must pay at least as much attention to the economic consequences. The economic consequences of the sanctions introduced due to the war are grave; if we also impose sanctions related to the oil and gas which Europe imports from Russia, however, the consequences would be far graver still. Furthermore, Hungary would be disproportionately affected, as 85 per cent of all gas consumed in Hungary comes from Russia. Gas is used by 85 per cent of Hungarian households, and we produce fuel from oil, of which 64 per cent also comes from Russia. I made it clear that we are unable to follow the example of the United States, which yesterday imposed sanctions on these products. For Hungary this would result in an unbearable burden, and so our participation in these sanctions is out of the question. We continue to need gas and oil coming from Russia.