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Hungary, Croatia need to get back on track with cooperation: Hungarian FM

Xinhua, November 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday urged a return to cooperation with Croatia, saying that the MOL-INA dispute needed to be depoliticized, with economic rationality and energy security to play the cardinal roles in resolving the dispute.

His words came at a news conference here on Tuesday after meeting with his Croatian counterpart Davor Ivo Stier.

The falling-out was triggered by two major companies, Hungary's oil and gas giant MOL and Croatia's INA which is partly owned by MOL and partly by the Croatian government.

INA charged MOL with acting illegally to obtain the control of its management. MOL responded by refusing to invest in developing INA and putting its share of INA on the market despite Croatia's protests.

Last week, Interpol rejected Croatia's request to renew an international arrest warrant for the chief of MOL Zsolt Hernadi, who is accused in Croatia of bribery.

Szijjarto noted that Stier, who was appointed as foreign minister in October following September elections, chose Hungary for his first official visit abroad, strongly suggesting the readiness to open a new chapter in the relations between the two countries.

The Hungarian minister said the two officials had agreed to hold a meeting of the intergovernmental joint committee in January.

They also agreed to turn the gas pipelines running between the two countries into a bi-directional one as quickly as possible.

Croatia, Szijjarto said, is committed to building a seaside terminal able to accommodate shipments of LNG (liquefied natural gas) which could prove to be an import source for Hungary.

Stier acknowledged that the dispute between Croatia and MOL had worked against the cooperation between Croatia and Hungary, but they had resolved to improve bilateral ties, which hopefully would lead to a settlement of the dispute as well.

He also touched on energy issues, saying that Croatia's minister for energy affairs would soon be visiting Budapest and the LNG terminal could be a new source of cooperation.

The goal with this visit, Stier said, was to open a new chapter in bilateral ties and begin an approach to cooperation. Endit