Hungarian FM: Hungary to continue energy cooperation with Russia

UNITED NATIONS. Sept 25 (Interfax) - Hungary is going to continue its cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, and Moscow remains a reliable supplier of energy resources, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

"I emphasized that Hungary respects the fact that Russia remains a reliable supplier of energy resources. And we intend to continue this cooperation," Szijjarto told journalists after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"Our national interest is that we should be able to receive reliable supplies of energy resources. To be frank, it's impossible without Russian oil and gas. And it has nothing to do with politics or ideology. Energy supplies are a very practical issue. It's about the geography, the infrastructure that is in place. If deliveries from Russia stop, what we are receiving via the pipeline from Croatia will simply not be enough for us, even the capacity of this pipeline is not sufficiently large," he said when commenting on the European Commission's plans to propose higher import tariffs on Russian oil.

The Ukraine conflict was also discussed at the meeting with Lavrov, Szijjarto said.

"Hungary has been encountering the consequences of this conflict for too long," he said.