GERB leader Boyko Borisov welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to his office in the National Assembly. The two long-time friends discussed the geopolitical situation and the challenges facing Europe, BTV reported.
At the beginning of the meeting, Borisov thanked Orban for his support in Bulgaria's full accession to Schengen. After that, the Hungarian Prime Minister spoke to reporters.
When asked about the sanctions on Russian gas, he explained:
„First of all, I want to say that I am very glad that political development in Bulgaria is now going in a hopeful direction. Boyko Borisov and I have been good friends for years and I am sure that he can successfully stabilize the political situation here. This is not my job, because after all, this depends on the Bulgarian citizens, but I think that it will be good for everyone - even for the Hungarian citizens and for the EU - for Bulgaria to have a stable government.“
“Secondly - on the gas issue, the GERB leader has always helped Hungary a lot to avoid being punished by external forces, or even by local Bulgarian parties that want to stop gas supplies from Bulgaria to Hungary. He has always helped us. Out of nearly 9 billion cubic meters of our gas, 7 billion come from Bulgaria, so you play a key role in the security of our country“, he also said.
“Now we have managed to agree with the Americans on the sanctions against “Gazprombank“ to be suspended for 3 months and we managed to get an alternative funding path that we agreed with the Russians – so now for a few months Hungary is in a relatively safe position“, explained Orbán.
“As for the sanctions on Russia – by the end of January the EU must decide what to do. This decision must be made by the 27 member states of the Union, my recommendation to all of us is to wait“, added the Hungarian Prime Minister, specifying that it is not necessary to wait for the inauguration of US President Donald Trump to make this decision.