Nigel Farage discusses NATO and EU politics towards Russia
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Mr Putin and Hungarian President Viktor Orbán struck a deal that will see Russia ramp up gas deliveries to the Eastern European country until 2036. This has come at a time when the rest of Europe is being deprived of Russia’s gas, the source of around 40 percent of its natural gas supplies, leading to record high European prices. And this is not the only source of pressure the Russian President is piling on Europe.
That is because he looks poised to invade Ukraine, having stationed 100,000 troops at the Ukraine-Russia border.
Brandon Weichert, author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, told Express.co.uk that their new deal was a “brilliant move” for Hungary.
He said: “The Russia/Hungary gas deal, from a purely economic perspective (in terms of Hungary), was a brilliant move.
“At a time when most of Europe is starved of affordable natural gas because of the ongoing tensions in Ukraine between the West and Russia, Hungary swooped in and got a deal to purchase large quantities of natural gas from Russia at a fives times cheaper rate than what most other Europeans can purchase it for.
“This is obviously a deeply complicating factor for the wider NATO/EU alliance, as Washington attempts to coordinate a unified strategy for deterring Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine.”
Russia has warned that Ukraine joining NATO would be viewed as a direct threat.
And while Hungary is a NATO member, it denied the UK’s offer to station NATO troops in the country.
Mr Orbán and Mr Putin are also known to have close ties.
The US has already warned Mr Putin there will be “severe” consequences if he launches an invasion.
But as it scrambles to discourage an attack, it may have to worry about Mr Putin’s “Trojan horse”.
Daniel Hegedus, from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told DW: “This is the 11th personal meeting between Putin and Orbán and the timing of this one sends a symbolic message to Putin, because it shows him that not every EU nation has shunned him over the crisis in Ukraine.
“A similar meeting also took place after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, triggering questions if Hungary was like the Kremlin’s Trojan horse in the West.”
Mr Weichert commented: “Hungary could certainly complicate any US-European coordinated response to Russia.”
He said that because Hungary is a “peripheral state” within NATO and the EU, it could be a “stumbling block to a “NATO/EU coordinated response to Russian aggression”.
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But Mr Weichert noted that there may be bigger even “stumbling blocks” in play.
He said: “Ukraine is none other than the beating economic heart of the European Union and an old member of NATO, Germany.”
In fact, much of the pipeline gas which Russia is supposed to send to Europe bypasses Ukraine on its way.
And a new pipeline that is awaiting certification, Nord Stream 2, would see Russian gas transited to Germany, also passing through Ukraine on its route.
But after critics accused Mr Putin of using gas as a geopolitical tool, it sparked fears the new pipeline would only make Russia’s grip on European energy tighter.
US President Joe Biden’s decision to waive sanctions on the pipeline was viewed by some as a move to keep friendly with its German allies.
But Washington has said that the pipeline should be scrapped altogether if Russia invades.
It has also called for harsh action to be taken on Russia if a military invasion is launched.
This pipeline may be why Germany is “playing nice” with Russia amid the soaring tensions of Ukraine tension.
Mr Weichert said: “I find it very interesting that as countries like Germany or even Hungary are attempting to play nicer with Russia against the wishes of America.
He also warned that a “hesitant France” and “indifferent Italy” could also prove to be stumbling blocks for a coordinated NATO/EU response.
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