Russia will free two Ukrainian-Hungarian nationals captured while fighting for Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appealed for their release in a phone call.
In a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in the Kremlin, Putin said the two soldiers were "forcibly conscripted" by Ukraine and that he personally made the decision to release them.
"As the prime minister requested, you will be able to take them with you on the plane you arrived on and the plane you will return to Budapest on," Putin told Szijjártó.
Hungary is one of the few European countries to maintain close ties with Russia amid its war on Ukraine and has consistently opposed military aid for Kyiv.
Ukraine is home to a large Hungarian minority, most of whom live in the western Zakarpattia region and hold dual citizenship.
The Russian Defense Ministry published a video last week purporting to show a dual Hungarian-Ukrainian citizen prisoner of war, alleging he had been forced to enlist in the Ukrainian army.
During their meeting, Szijjártó also urged Moscow not to raise energy prices, after fighting in the Middle East spurred by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran sent markets into turmoil.
"I came here ... to be assured and obtain a guarantee that even in the midst of the current crisis, the quantities of natural gas and crude oil necessary for Hungary's energy security will be available, and that they will be delivered to Hungary from Russia at the same price," Szijjártó said.
Putin said Russia was happy to discuss the issue of energy.
"Not everything depends on us, but, I repeat, we have always been reliable suppliers," Putin told Szijjártó.
Hungary is the European Union's biggest importer of Russian fossil fuels, having maintained purchases and secured exemptions from sanctions despite pressure from Brussels amid the Ukraine war.
Szijjártó's visit came after oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline stopped after a Russian strike allegedly damaged the line in late January.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that buyers of Russian oil were “facing blackmail” and accused Ukraine of “deliberately blocking deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline.”
Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán spoke over the phone on Tuesday, during which they discussed a range of issues. It was the first known phone call between the two leaders since oil supplies were disrupted earlier this year.
AFP contributed reporting.
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