The Russian Hungarian gas supply agreement caused a storm, and Hungary and Ukraine summoned ambassad

Original title: Russia Hungary gas supply agreement caused a storm, Hungary and Ukraine summoned ambassadors to each other
The Russian Hungarian gas supply agreement caused a storm, and Hungary and Ukraine summoned ambassadors to each other
An Xiaomeng
The Hungarian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian ambassador on the 28th, accusing Ukraine of trying to block Hungary's purchase of natural gas from Russia and violating Hungary's sovereignty. In response, Ukraine summoned the Hungarian Ambassador later that day.
[each table is dissatisfied]
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter sialto said in a statement on the same day that Ukraine tried to block Hungary's access to stable natural gas supply, "we believe that this violates our sovereignty". He also expressed "anger" at Ukraine's intention to file a complaint with the European Commission.
Gazprom signed a contract with the Hungarian government on the 27th to supply natural gas from October 1 this year to the end of 2036. According to the contract, Russia will supply 4.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Hungary every year in the next 15 years. Gazprom said it would send gas to Hungary through natural gas pipelines in Turkey and Southeast Europe.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters in a text message on the 28th that Ukraine also summoned the Hungarian ambassador. The spokesman said: "(Russia) bypasses Ukraine (to Hungary) to supply gas, undermining China's national security and European energy security. Ukraine will take decisive measures to protect national interests."
The Ministry of foreign affairs of Ukraine said in a statement on the 27th that it was "surprised and disappointed" that Hungary decided to sign a long-term natural gas supply contract "bypassing Ukraine" with Gazprom, which was a "politically and economically unreasonable decision" and damaged the relations between Ukraine and Hungary. Ukraine intends to seek the European Commission to assess whether the transaction complies with European energy law.
Ukraine's reaction angered Hungary. Siarto condemned Ukraine's attempt to intervene in Hungary Russia natural gas transaction on the 27th. "For Hungary, energy security is about (National) security, sovereignty and economic issues, not political issues. You can't use political speech to heat your home," he said
[regeneration twists and turns]
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian President, said on the 28th that the Russian Hungarian gas agreement did not infringe the rights of any party or violate international norms, and Ukraine had no right to interfere in Russian Hungarian relations.
However, Peskov said that Russia does not need to take retaliatory measures against Ukraine's response.
In the past, Russia mainly transported natural gas to Europe through Ukraine, but in recent years, it has sought to diversify gas transmission channels and built "Turkish stream" to Turkey through the Black Sea and "beixi-2" gas transmission pipeline to Germany through the Baltic Sea, which can bypass Ukraine to supply gas to Europe. The former was opened at the beginning of this year, and the latter announced its completion earlier this month.
Ukraine strongly opposes the "beixi-2" project and is worried about the loss of natural gas "transit fee" and the interruption of gas supply by Russia. The US government blocked this project by means of economic sanctions and claimed that it was a "geopolitical weapon" used by Russia to influence Europe, but reached a compromise with the German government in July this year.
In recent years, Ukraine has maintained tense relations with Russia due to problems such as civil armed forces in Crimea and eastern Ukraine; On the other hand, there are also discord between Ukraine and another neighboring Hungary, which is related to the language rights of about 150000 Hungarian residents in the outer Carpathian state in western Ukraine.
In 2017, Ukraine enacted a law requiring its secondary school teachers to teach in Ukrainian only and not in other minority languages. The Hungarian foreign ministry subsequently expressed dissatisfaction, saying that bilateral relations had fallen to the lowest point in more than 20 years. In October 2018, Ukraine ordered the expulsion of a Hungarian consul on the grounds that he illegally issued passports to ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine. Hungary subsequently announced the expulsion of a Ukrainian consul in Hungary. Ukraine actively seeks to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, and Hungary, as a member state of these two organizations, has clearly expressed its opposition.
In January this year, siarto visited Ukraine and met with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitry kuleba. The two sides expressed their willingness to repair bilateral relations. However, the two countries have disputes over the gas supply contract between Russia and Hungary. (end) (special feature of Xinhua News Agency)