Hungary will break EU sanctions if it keeps its promise to pay for Russian energy in roubles, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told CNN on Friday. However, according to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Hungary can pay in roubles without violating the sanctions imposed by Brussels.

„I would like to reassure everyone that Hungary’s energy supply is secure, and will remain so in the future,” Mr Szijjarto said in a Facebook postin response to Ms von der Leyen’s remark. As Hungary’s foreign minister explained, the agreement between CEEnergy – a subsidiary of the Hungarian electricity holding MVM – and Gazprom’s subsidiary Gazpromexport is a

contractual relationship and, based on the technical negotiations of the last few days, it is possible to pay for the delivered natural gas in a way required by the supplier, without violating the santions by Brussels.

Mr Szijjarto said he understood that others have other interests, „but our interest is to guarantee the security of our country’s energy supply. And this is what we’ll do, because no one can make the Hungarian people pay the price of this war.”