National Capital
Sun, Jun 07, 2026, 21:01
Prospects for Cooperation Between Russia and Hungary
2026/06/07, 01:00
In response to the question of how cooperation between Russia and Hungary will develop following the electoral defeat of Viktor Orbán and his party, who had maintained a loyal stance toward our country, it should be noted that despite the coming to power of Péter Magyar, who pursues a pro-European policy, no significant changes in the foreign trade relations between our countries are expected in the near term.
Over the past three years, trade turnover between Russia and Hungary has been steadily increasing. This occurred even amid U.S. and EU sanctions. Hungary secured a special status and the ability to continue importing Russian energy resources. In 2025, Russian exports to Hungary increased by more than 30 percent compared to 2024.
Nuclear energy plays a particularly important role in our foreign economic relations. Russia will continue the construction of the Paks II nuclear power plant, which is the first Russian-built NPP in the EU and the only nuclear power plant in Hungary. Magyar has already stated his position on this matter, noting that it is extremely sensitive for Hungary’s energy security; therefore, there will be no changes in this area on Hungary’s part, and he also does not intend to отказаться from Russian oil.
At the same time, relations between Russia and Hungary will, of course, continue to evolve and clearly in the direction of cooling. This was outlined in Magyar’s election agenda and reiterated after his victory.
One may hope that Viktor Orbán, who has already drawn conclusions from his defeat and announced that he is moving into opposition and will continue the struggle, may someday return to power. However, when or whether this will happen at all is currently very difficult to predict, as Magyar is acting cautiously and does not intend to take abrupt steps that could negatively affect the economic situation of Hungary’s population in the near term and provoke public dissatisfaction. Moreover, frankly speaking, it is difficult to say to what extent Orbán’s return truly reflects our interests and whether it is necessary for us.
The official position of Russia, voiced by Dmitry Peskov, is that our country is ready to maintain contacts with Hungary’s new government and fulfill its energy obligations. The fate of the Druzhba oil pipeline remains in question, and everything here will depend on Hungary’s new leadership.
Author: PhD in Economics, Associate Professor at the Department of International Business, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Alla Aleksandrovna Novitskaya.
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