On Saturday, 25 March Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Belgrade, where he negotiated with Aleksandar Vučić, the President of the Republic of Serbia. According to Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief, the topics of discussion included Serbia and the Western Balkans’ EU integration, the continuously developing Hungarian-Serbian bilateral relations, as well as the possibilities of promoting a ceasefire and peace talks in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Later, the Prime Minister also shared a picture on his social media account, where he wrote: ‘Meeting with President Vučić in Belgrade’ he wrote in the post, and Aleksandar Vučić and the PM can be seen in the pictures, shaking hands and greeting each other. He took opportunity to play a bit of pool in Serbia as well, which was captured in another photo. In the post, he wrote: ‘Hungarian-Serbian showdown, HUN:SRB 1:1’.

After the meeting of the Prime Ministers was conducted, Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade reflected on the topics discussed.

According to the video uploaded on his Facebook page on Saturday, the minister said that Hungary’s and Serbia’s strategic partnership and friendship greatly contribute to Hungary’s ability to manage the unprecedented challenges it faces. After the talks between the Hungarian and Serbian prime ministers in Belgrade, Péter Szijjártó said that most Central European countries face three major challenges, these being: economy, security, and energy supply, and Hungary’s strategic alliance with Serbia helps to address all three.

The most significant challenge is related to energy supply, and the two countries are ‘holding on even tighter than before’ to ensure long-term energy supply, he emphasised. Szijjártó also reminded that, under a long-term agreement with Gazprom, the gas that supplies Hungary arrives through Serbia, and Hungary stores hundreds of millions of cubic meters of gas for Serbia.

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