Western Europe Engaged In Multibillion Deals With Russia Despite Harsh Rhetoric - Budapest

Despite the open and harsh rhetoric against Moscow, Western European countries are in fact closely cooperating with Russia and running a multibillion business with this country, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2018) Despite the open and harsh rhetoric against Moscow, Western European countries are in fact closely cooperating with Russia and running a multibillion business with this country, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

"We want to maintain pragmatic relations with Russia, and we envy the way Western European countries and companies work with [Moscow]. There is a very tough rhetoric in relation to Moscow on the surface, but in fact a big business is being conducted. It is not about us, who have close relations with Russia, this is about Western European countries," Szijjarto told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Szijjarto stressed that Western European countries are engaged in "a multibillion business with Russia."

"They construct the Nord Stream-2. French President [Emmanuel] Macron was a honorary guest at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The leaders of the four largest energy companies communicate with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," the foreign minister added.

In 2014, Russia withdrew from the South Stream project that had been set to carry the gas to Europe through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, explaining that the approach of the European Union was not constructive. In October 2016, Russia and Turkey agreed on the construction of the TurkStream pipeline.

The sea portion of TurkStream started being laid on May 7, 2017, and on November 19, the Russian and Turkish leaders gave the command to lay the last pipe of the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline.

European nations are split over the issue of Russian gas pipelines in Europe. On the one hand, EU Commission refused to back the Nord Stream-2 project, saying it did not contribute to the EU goals of diversifying the gas supplies. A number of states such as Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic States and the United States voiced their strong opposition to the project. This pipeline leaves eastern European countries without a chance to collect gas transit fees. However, other states, including Germany and France are interested in this gas pipeline.

The same situation is developing around the Turk Stream pipeline. Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia are interested in participation in the extension of the TurkStream gas pipeline. However, guarantees from the European Union are needed to ensure that the project will not see the same obstacles as the scuppered South Stream.

In June 2018, Szijjarto accused the European Commission of double standards when determining the destiny of different energy projects referring to the "killing" of the South Stream project, which would have contributed to the diversification of routes for the Central part of Europe.