Hungary clings to Russian oil,  gas as EU and NATO push to cut supplies

BUDAPEST(Hungary), Oct 4: As the European Union pushes to fully sever its reliance on Russian energy and the administration of US President Donald Trump urges NATO members to abandon Russian oil, one country’s populist government stands firm. Hungary and its leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, have long argued Russian energy imports are indispensable for the country’s economy and switching to fossil fuels sourced from elsewhere would cause an immediate economic collapse. Orbán, who has long had the friendliest ties to the Kremlin of any EU leader, has vigorously opposed the bloc’s efforts to sanction Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and blasted attempts to hit Russia’s energy revenues that help finance the war. As the rest of Europe has weaned off Russian ene