The crisis in the Crimea, where Russia has taken effective control of the Ukrainian territory, continued on several fronts this week, with warning shots fired at observers of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and an assurance by Hungarian energy company MVM that uninterrupted natural gas supplies to Hungary are guaranteed by effective international agreements.
National Economy Minister Mihály Varga said the crisis has so far had only limited impact on Hungary’s economy but the government is watching developments closely. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, speaking after a special European Union summit in Brussels, said the EU should allow Ukrainian nationals to travel the bloc without a visa.
Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, speaking from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Tuesday in his second public appearance since he fled Kiev last month following months of anti-government protests, blamed his opponents for Crimea’s moves to break away from Ukraine and maintained he remains the country’s president and commander-in-chief.
The OSCE observers were deterred by warning shots while attempting to enter Crimea on Saturday, the Hungarian head of the mission, Gábor Ács, told state news agency MTI. The gunmen at the checkpoint were not aiming at the observers but at their vehicles, Ács said. The armed men had been larger in number and more verbally aggressive, especially with the observers’ Ukrainian escorts.
The 42 observers from 22 countries were sent after Ukraine requested signatories to OSCE’s Vienna Document of 2011 to monitor military operations in Crimea. The mission’s mandate was expiring this week.
MVM was commenting after Russia’s gas company Gazprom threatened to stop exports to Ukraine unless the country settled its gas payments. MVM said that ensuring households are supplied with gas is a top priority, and both the Russian and Ukrainian parties had indicated they would fulfil their contractual obligations. The Hungarian company said it has made preparations in case the amount of gas from Ukraine should be curbed, and referred to alternative routes, domestic natural gas extraction and Hungary’s gas reserves of 1,400 million cubic metres.
Varga said Ukraine is not only a neighbour but an important business partner for Hungary. The government would continue to keep tabs on developments in the country, where Hungary’s OTP bank and Eximbank are present. Hungary also has important ties with Ukraine in the food and pharmaceutical industries, he said. “Should there be any developments that require the government to take steps, the government will certainly take those steps,” Varga added.
Orbán said that though lifting the visa requirement for Ukrainians depends not only on a political decision but on a number of other factors, the move should be taken “quickly and in the simplest way possible”. Hungary’s interests concerning Ukraine have not changed: Hungary wants to see a democratic country which “stands on its own two feet”, he said. Hungary was interested in a Ukraine in which the Hungarian minority felt safe. The Prime Minister noted that the interconnector linking Hungary’s and Slovakia’s natural gas networks will be inaugurated this month. Full operation of the interconnector is expected next 1 January. The new link would also connect Hungary’s gas distribution network with the Czech Republic, reducing Hungary’s dependency on Russian
natural gas supplies.
