Hungary resumes construction of Paks NPP with Rosatom participation after US sanctions lifted.
The United States has lifted restrictions that were complicating the project to complete the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary, which is to be built with the participation of Russia's Rosatom.
This was stated by Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto, emphasizing that this concerns sanctions introduced under the Joe Biden administration, which, according to him, “considered Hungary as an enemy,” the Hungarian publication Hirado reports.
“With one of these sanctions measures they tried to make it impossible for Hungary to have a long-term reliable energy supply by imposing restrictions on the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant, which made construction impossible,” he said.
Szijjártó stressed that after the change of power in Washington, US policy towards Budapest has changed.
“Fortunately, since January, there has been a president in Washington, D.C., who views Hungary as a friend. For this, we are grateful to President Donald Trump and the Republican administration,” Szijjártó emphasized.
He added that the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant would enable Hungary to produce most of its electricity by the middle of the next decade, which would allow the country to keep utility prices low.
The minister said that production of equipment for the plant was already underway in Russia and France, and that construction at the Paks site had received “new impetus.” He stressed that the continuation of the project was critical for Hungary's energy security.
Szijjártó also said that the next “battle” would be the protection of Hungarian interests in Brussels, in particular the right to purchase cheap oil and gas.
Let us recall that Hungary previously refused to support the 18th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
As Szijjártó noted, the country blocked the sanctions package due to the European Union's plans to gradually phase out imports of Russian energy resources.
