Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto stated that his country would 'never agree' with any sanctions against Russia’s nuclear sector, speaking on the sidelines of the 27th St Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday.
"We will never agree with any sanction measures to be applied against nuclear. <...> Half of our electricity production comes from nuclear and our nuclear power plant is being fueled by Russian nuclear fuel. So in case of a sanction regime against nuclear fuel would absolutely make it impossible to supply our country with electricity safely," Szijjarto said/
"It is not only that we do not support sanctions on nuclear but we are interested in further improving our nuclear co-operation with Russia simply because it is in our national interest," he continued.
The diplomat also expressed concern about EU leaders' rhetoric on Ukraine; in particular the possibility of ground troops, which French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly suggested could not be ruled out.
"Obviously, sending troops to Ukraine brings forward the serious risk of escalation of this war because in case there is a direct confrontation between troops of the NATO member states and troops of the Russian Federation that comes with the threat of the third world war basically immediately," he said.
"We urge for immediate ceasefire and the peace talks. We definitely don't like those statements, decisions, initiatives, which bring forward the risk of escalation," he continued, adding: "We welcome the statement by China and Brazil. We welcome this statement because it is an initiative on how to make peace. Making peace in Ukraine is in our utmost interest."
SPIEF 2024, taking place from June 5-8, includes participants from over 136 countries. Since its inception in 1997, the forum has served as a platform for international dialogue on economic matters, with the patronage and participation of the Russian Federation's president since 2005.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Since the start of the military offensive, around 60 countries joined with EU and US sanctions policies on Russia.
Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that more than 20,000 restrictions were already in place, targeting finance, defence, energy, transport, technology, culture, science, and industry. Additionally, a number of sanctions have been imposed on specific individuals and organisations.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that restrictions will only 'boomerang' on those attempting to impose them.
Hungary opposes 'any sanction measures against nuclear' tech - FM Szijjarto
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto stated that his country would 'never agree' with any sanctions against Russia’s nuclear sector, speaking on the sidelines of the 27th St Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday.
"We will never agree with any sanction measures to be applied against nuclear. <...> Half of our electricity production comes from nuclear and our nuclear power plant is being fueled by Russian nuclear fuel. So in case of a sanction regime against nuclear fuel would absolutely make it impossible to supply our country with electricity safely," Szijjarto said/
"It is not only that we do not support sanctions on nuclear but we are interested in further improving our nuclear co-operation with Russia simply because it is in our national interest," he continued.
The diplomat also expressed concern about EU leaders' rhetoric on Ukraine; in particular the possibility of ground troops, which French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly suggested could not be ruled out.
"Obviously, sending troops to Ukraine brings forward the serious risk of escalation of this war because in case there is a direct confrontation between troops of the NATO member states and troops of the Russian Federation that comes with the threat of the third world war basically immediately," he said.
"We urge for immediate ceasefire and the peace talks. We definitely don't like those statements, decisions, initiatives, which bring forward the risk of escalation," he continued, adding: "We welcome the statement by China and Brazil. We welcome this statement because it is an initiative on how to make peace. Making peace in Ukraine is in our utmost interest."
SPIEF 2024, taking place from June 5-8, includes participants from over 136 countries. Since its inception in 1997, the forum has served as a platform for international dialogue on economic matters, with the patronage and participation of the Russian Federation's president since 2005.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Since the start of the military offensive, around 60 countries joined with EU and US sanctions policies on Russia.
Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that more than 20,000 restrictions were already in place, targeting finance, defence, energy, transport, technology, culture, science, and industry. Additionally, a number of sanctions have been imposed on specific individuals and organisations.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that restrictions will only 'boomerang' on those attempting to impose them.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto stated that his country would 'never agree' with any sanctions against Russia’s nuclear sector, speaking on the sidelines of the 27th St Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday.
"We will never agree with any sanction measures to be applied against nuclear. <...> Half of our electricity production comes from nuclear and our nuclear power plant is being fueled by Russian nuclear fuel. So in case of a sanction regime against nuclear fuel would absolutely make it impossible to supply our country with electricity safely," Szijjarto said/
"It is not only that we do not support sanctions on nuclear but we are interested in further improving our nuclear co-operation with Russia simply because it is in our national interest," he continued.
The diplomat also expressed concern about EU leaders' rhetoric on Ukraine; in particular the possibility of ground troops, which French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly suggested could not be ruled out.
"Obviously, sending troops to Ukraine brings forward the serious risk of escalation of this war because in case there is a direct confrontation between troops of the NATO member states and troops of the Russian Federation that comes with the threat of the third world war basically immediately," he said.
"We urge for immediate ceasefire and the peace talks. We definitely don't like those statements, decisions, initiatives, which bring forward the risk of escalation," he continued, adding: "We welcome the statement by China and Brazil. We welcome this statement because it is an initiative on how to make peace. Making peace in Ukraine is in our utmost interest."
SPIEF 2024, taking place from June 5-8, includes participants from over 136 countries. Since its inception in 1997, the forum has served as a platform for international dialogue on economic matters, with the patronage and participation of the Russian Federation's president since 2005.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Since the start of the military offensive, around 60 countries joined with EU and US sanctions policies on Russia.
Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that more than 20,000 restrictions were already in place, targeting finance, defence, energy, transport, technology, culture, science, and industry. Additionally, a number of sanctions have been imposed on specific individuals and organisations.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that restrictions will only 'boomerang' on those attempting to impose them.