President of the Republic of Tatarstan visited Hungary

Budapest, April 8 (MTI) – Open and sincere dialogue within the EU on the future of sanctions against Russia seems unavoidable given their doubtful efficacy in resolving the Ukrainian conflict, Hungary’s foreign minister said after talks with President Rustam Minnikhanov of the Republic of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia, on Friday.

Hungary advocates the full-scale implementation of the Minsk agreements but “doubts whether they can be fully implemented,” Péter Szijjártó said in a press statement.

“It is just contrary to the interests of Europe that, day by day, we are getting farther away from pragmatic cooperation and normalising relations with Russia,” he said, noting the deleterious effect on Hungary’s economy.

The EU’s sanctions imposed on Russia have seriously impacted Hungary’s bilateral trade with Tatarstan, Szijjártó said, noting that its volume has dropped by half, to about 500 million dollars over the past two years.

In an effort to reverse the trend, Hungary opened a consulate-general in Kazan last year, the first EU country to do so, he said. The major areas of bilateral business cooperation have also been identified such as agricultural technology investments in Tatarstan with support of Hungary’s Eximbank, supply of car parts and the energy sector, said he said. Further, Hungary and Tatarstan are close to agree on launching a direct flight between Budapest and Kazan this year.

Minnikhanov also stressed the need to put an end to political confrontation between the European Union and Russia. He expressed satisfaction over Tatar-Hungarian relations, highlighting cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, culture, education and sports.

Tatarstan strives to further boost bilateral relations, he said.