Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday to discuss crude and gas supplies for Hungary and also peace efforts in Ukraine.
The move would also enable Hungary to provide oil to neighbouring Serbia. He said that Hungary would be “pleased” to take a role in Serbia’s NIS oil company, but added that the future of the refinery affected by U.S. sanctions remains a decision for Serbia.
Orban has maintained close relations with Moscow despite the war in neighbouring Ukraine, and Hungary is still largely reliant on Russian energy, despite European Union efforts to cut dependence.
Orban revealed his plan to meet Putin in a video interview on his Facebook page, adding, "I am going (to Moscow) to ensure that Hungary's energy supply is secured for the winter and next year."
When asked if peace efforts in Ukraine would also be on the agenda, Orban said, "We can hardly avoid that."
The United States gave Hungary an exemption from sanctions this month to use Russian oil and gas, after Orban pressed his case for a reprieve during a friendly meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington.
Hungary also signed a pact on nuclear power cooperation with the United States.
The deal provides for Hungary to buy U.S. nuclear fuel and technology to store spent fuel at a Russian-built nuclear plant, known as Paks I.
Russia's Rosatom is building an extension to the plant, a 2014 project that has been substantially delayed.
Orban has said before that he wants to revive plans for a "peace summit" in Budapest between Trump and Putin on Ukraine, which was shelved this year.
In contrast to most NATO and European Union leaders, Orban has kept up cordial relations with Russia while questioning the logic of Western military aid for Kyiv.
Hungary has imported 8.5 million tonnes of crude oil and more than 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia this year, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
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An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
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A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
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A gunman was arrested after opening fire at a local government office near Bangkok on Monday, days after a deadly school shooting renewed debate over gun control in Thailand.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
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