Foreign Ministers of Belarus and Hungary discuss economic issues

Minsk and Budapest have seriously intensified interaction based on a sense of healthy pragmatism. The Foreign Ministry hosted a press conference of the Foreign Ministers of Belarus and Hungary.

The ministers paid special attention to economic issues. Maxim Ryzhenkov emphasized that it's not easy to develop cooperation with the country, which is a member of the EU. While building relations with Belarus and realizing the national interests, Budapest must simultaneously comply with the requirements of the European Union, which has imposed a package of sanctions against Minsk.

Maxim Ryzhenkov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus:

Our position is not to knowingly demand from our partners some impossible things, proceeding from the possible excess of their powers or going beyond the requirements established in the European Union, which may be detrimental to Hungary. So we are looking for those niches and those opportunities that allow us to cooperate where there is this window of cooperation that is not covered by the sanctions policy.

“Belarus is a very important country for Hungary in terms of energy security. For us it is not an ideological, but a physical issue. One cannot heat an apartment or manage factories with political statements. For us, the issue of energy supply is a physical issue. Today Belarus guarantees transit oil supplies to Hungary, 71% of Hungarian oil goes through the Druzhba pipeline. Belarus guarantees the security of these supplies,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjártó.

Szijjártó emphasized that the trade turnover between Belarus and Hungary increased by 12% in 2024, while the country's exports by 30%.