Hungarian government may be lobbying the EU over sanctioned Belarus
"The most sensitive thing for us is the loss of our export portfolio. These concern the sanctioned products: these are mineral fertilizers and wood processing shipped here. Otherwise, in wood processing, our Hungarian partners are kind of lobbying to at least get the quotas for pellets through, which are in great demand on the European market.
"Despite all this, Belarus still has many friends in Europe. Our country is treated with great sympathy and respect," said Uladzimir Ulakhovich, Belarus' ambassador to Hungary, in an interview with Belarusian state television, according to Reform.by.
he SAID THAT THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT IS LOBBYING FOR BELARUSIAN PELLETS, CURRENTLY SUBJECT TO EU SANCTIONS, TO BE RETURNED TO THE EU MARKET.
A meeting of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee was held in Budapest last week. Several documents were signed during the meeting. For example, a nuclear cooperation agreement between Belarus and Hungary.
"Cooperation in the nuclear sector is a new topic. Not only a memorandum [of understanding] was signed, but also an agreement was reached to set up a group of experts. It is important to note that our Hungarian partners appreciate the experience Belarus has today with our nuclear power plant," said Ulakhovich.
The portal pointed out that Russia's Rosatom has a contract to expand the Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary, with two VVER-1200 blocks, which are already in use at the Astravec power plant in Belarus.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Serhiy Aleynyik arrived in Hungary on Tuesday last week, a visit criticised by many as Minsk remains Russia's only European ally to support the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has also been criticised for making several visits to Belarus.
Cover photo: Getty Images.
