While Western officials discussed some bandaids to address the cutting off of the 20% of the world’s oil supply that normally passes through the Straits of Hormuz—e.g., coordinating releases from their strategic reserves to buy time—others took a more straightforward, reality-based approach. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after finishing a meeting of the Defense and Energy Security Council this morning, reported on his letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the EU to lift all the sanctions on Russian energy. He also warned that Kiev’s “oil blockade,” stopping the flow through the Druzhba pipeline, threatens not only Hungary and Slovakia, but the entire EU. “Because of the Ukrainian oil blockade and the war in the Middle East, oil prices have also begun to rise sharply...”
His Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto posted on X today: “The EU should immediately lift its ban on Russian oil and gas imports. With the war in the Middle East escalating and the Strait of Hormuz closed, a major share of global energy supply is now at risk. If Brussels keeps the sanctions in place, it will cause serious harm to European people and the European economy.” He said that “the focus should be on protecting the interests of Europeans, not ideology.”
