Thewesternbalkans.
According to some media information, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Serbian town of Subotica on 27 of November just before his visit to the Russian capital Moskow on Friday. Mr Orban and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić have been awarded this year’s Pasztor Istvan Prize, bestowed by the Pasztor Istvan Foundation in recognition of their outstanding and enduring contributions to the development of Serbian-Hungarian relations, the strengthening of historical reconciliation between the two nations, and the reinforcement of strategic partnership., Viktor Orban and Serbia’s President held press conference.
At a joint press conference after receiving the award, Prime Minister Viktor Orban emphasized that it was an honour to receive the award together with President Vučić. According to the prime minister, Serbia and Hungary must coordinate on a weekly basis, and for this purpose the foreign ministers have been tasked with establishing the closest possible cooperation.
Responding to a question about how Hungary can assist Serbia, the Prime Minister stressed that Hungary does not possess significant domestic oil reserves and therefore must rely on imports, primarily on Russian oil.
“The Americans have imposed sanctions. I had, and have, two tasks. The first was to ensure that Hungary is exempted from the U.S. sanctions, and I have secured that exemption. The second task now is to ensure that there is actual fuel, not only documents and permits, but real oil and gas in the coming days. I will hold negotiations to this end. I hope with success, and then there will be fuel, and there will be exemption from sanctions as well, meaning that Russian oil and gas will continue to flow into Hungary. And if we have it, then you will also have it. So, to the question of how we can assist you, my answer is: we will share with you what we have,” Orban said.
Victor Orban underlined that it is essential to have the infrastructure required for energy security in place, so that Hungary can provide assistance to Serbia whenever necessary.
“We are accelerating the construction of the Hungarian section of the Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline”, the Prime Minister announced at the press conference. In this context, PM Orban noted that if global political circumstances change — as has occurred before — it may well happen that Serbia will supply Hungary, just as occurred in the case of natural gas: initially Hungary supplied Serbia, but today Hungary receives natural gas from the south.
“I am profoundly grateful to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for what he is doing for Serbian-Hungarian friendship, and he is always at our side when we are in need of help”, the Serbian President said at their joint press conference. He added: “The Serbian people can always count on the Hungarian people, and Hungary can likewise count on Serbia.”
“The problem arises because the country’s only oil refinery includes Russian ownership, and the sale of that stake did not take place by the expected deadline. Therefore, we turned to Hungary for assistance”, said Aleksandar Vučić.
Orban make also the announcement that the Hungarian state energy company MOL had doubled its oil shipments to Serbia in November and plans to increase the amount by 2.5 times in December.
After the trip to Moskow on Friday, Viktor Orban informed Aleksandar Vučić about his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and assured Belgrade of support for the country’s energy stability.
“I spoke on the phone with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, continuing the substantive dialogue we had the day before yesterday in Subotica. As he promised, he informed me about his meeting in Moscow yesterday. He also emphasized that Hungary will provide assistance in ensuring Serbia’s energy stability,” Vučić noted on Instagram.
Comments: Undoubtedly, a politician like Viktor Orbán cannot fail to take advantage of the investment he made years ago by supporting American presidential candidate (in that time) Donald Trump. His shuttle trips over the past month to Washington and Moscow (via Belgrade) aim to secure the best possible financial and economic conditions for Hungary ahead of next year’s elections. Many analyses and assumptions can be made about Orbán’s strategy, but one thing is certain – he is perfectly preparing for another term as Prime Minister of Hungary, and at the moment it is hard to see how he could be replaced.
On the other hand, Hungary’s interest in the Western Balkans is entirely understandable, as these are the closest territories where Hungarian influence can still be exerted. The question of whether this influence is driven by “great imperial memories and ambitions” or is simply a real politic is debatable, but at the moment, Orbán is achieving almost everything he has sought from both sides (Russia and the USA), never mind the strong opposition in Brussels. The visit to Serbia can also be seen as a nod to Moscow, because despite its dualistic policy, Belgrade is still strongly attached (and dependent) to Russia.
