In a visit to Turkey, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán thanked Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan for guaranteeing the transit of Russian gas to Hungary via Turkey.
Speaking in Istanbul on Monday, Orbán said Budapest will continue to receive Russian natural gas and oil, noting “there is no other available source” for his country.
He thanked Erdoğan for ensuring the transit corridor, pointing out that so far this year around 7.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas were delivered to Hungary through the TurkStream pipeline.
At a joint press conference, the Hungarian PM said that energy cooperation between the two countries is “strengthening”. He extended an invitation to Turkish companies to invest in natural gas and electricity production in Hungary.
Important connections with Turkic world
Highlighting the cooperation between the two countries, Orbán recalled that he has met with Erdoğan 32 times so far, noting that Hungary’s connection with the Turkic world is of great importance.
He added that since Hungarians have cultural and ethnic roots there, “we want to benefit from the advantages and opportunities stemming from that.” Hence, the two countries have elevated their partnership to a high strategic level, said Orbán.
For his part, Erdoğan announced the creation of a Joint Consultation Mechanism, under the supervision of their respective Foreign Ministers, aimed at examining bilateral and international issues “in a more institutional manner.” The Turkish President also referred to upgrading cooperation in the fields of energy, defence, transport, trade and culture, as well as the prospect of increasing the volume of bilateral trade from $6 billion to $10 billion.
‘Turkey protects Europe from migration’
Orbán also commented on the war in Ukraine. He reiterated that “there is no solution on the battlefield,” expressing appreciation for Turkey’s mediation efforts. The Hungarian PM thanked Ankara for its role in limiting irregular migration flows to Europe, saying: “If Turkey were not protecting Europe and Hungary at its southern border, today Europe would be swimming in a sea of illegal migration.”
He argued that Erdoğan’s actions prevent “this modern civilizational development from sweeping us away.”
Defence cooperation
The two leaders presented the summit in Istanbul as a milestone in strengthening bilateral cooperation, from the defence industry to regional balances. Highlighting the increasing importance of the defence industry, Orbán said bridges have been built that also allow military-industrial cooperation between the two countries.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed the new Joint Consultation Mechanism is designed to deepen cooperation between the two countries across foreign policy, security and defence industry fields.
The mechanism, bringing together foreign and defence ministers, intelligence chiefs and senior defence industry officials, was created to bolster cooperation in military, security, defence industry and counterterrorism fields, according to Turkish media outlet Daily Sabah.
Energy summit of Turkic states
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Energy Ministry hosted a meeting on Tuesday of the Energy Ministers of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) in Istanbul.
Participants include the OTS Secretariat, member states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as observers Hungary, Turkmenistan and a representative of the Turkish Cypriot community.
The two-day agenda includes strengthening cooperation on energy security issues, electricity interconnections, renewable energy sources and regional infrastructure projects.
Source: CNA, BGNES News Agency, Daily Sabah