Newsweek quoted Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto as saying that under the agreement signed on May 29, Belarus will support the construction of Hungary's second nuclear power plant - PAK 2.
The 12.5 billion euro ($13.5 billion) PAK 2 project has been under construction by Russian nuclear giant Rosatom since 2014. Rosatom is building two nuclear reactors with a capacity of 1.2 gigawatt per reactor at PAKS 2 in central Hungary.
The most important thing is the nuclear energy cooperation agreement that allows us to use Belarus experience to build reactors with similar technology, Reuters quoted Foreign Minister Szijjarto as saying in Minsk after a meeting with Belarus Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik.
Belarus' state news agency BelTA reported that the two sides discussed nuclear energy cooperation during the meeting.
The two countries have signed a roadmap for cooperation between nuclear power plants, which stipulates that key tasks will be carried out by Belarus and Hungary nuclear scientists from 2024 to 2025, including personnel training, scheduled maintenance and radioactive waste management.
In October last year, the nuclear power plant was the focus of the rift between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. President Lukashenko has asked Russia to compensate for arising problems with the Rosatom nuclear power plant, which was funded by Moscow with a borrow for tens of billions of dollars.
He said the construction of the nuclear facility near the city of Astravets in the western part of Grodno has been completed. However, he asked Russia to compensate him for the delay in the plant's construction, which he blamed on Russia.
Belarus, a former Soviet Republic, has maintained strong ties with Russia since the Ukraine conflict. The Russian military has been allowed to practice in Belarus since before the start of the Ukrainian war.
Meanwhile, although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has built close economic and political ties with Moscow and often speaks about his close ties to President Putin, he has condemned Russia's decision to conduct a military campaign in Ukraine and abide by some EU sanctions.
However, the NATO member has refused to provide weapons to Ukraine during the ongoing war.
In January 2023, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said that Western countries had become active participants in the war by providing weapons and money to Kiev. He said Western countries should pursue a ceasefire and peace negotiations.
