"'I am here to verify and receive guarantees' - PM Szijjarto comes to Moscow to meet with Putin over Druzhba halt amid escalating conflict at Middle East *SCRIPT* Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in his address to the nation from Moscow on Wednesday, pledged to ensure that 'oil and natural gas necessary for the security of Hungary's energy' will reach his country despite the recent geopolitical developments. "Hungary's energy security faces numerous challenges. On one hand, the Ukrainians are blocking oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline, while the Croatians are currently disputing our right to purchase Russian oil via sea routes. Simultaneously, as a result of the Iranian war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has posed extraordinary challenges to the entire global maritime oil and natural gas shipment," he stated. "I am here to verify and receive guarantees that, despite the changed circumstances and the global energy crisis, the Russians will deliver to Hungary at an unchanged price. And if we receive this guarantee today, then one task remains: to ensure that these quantities of oil and natural gas reach Hungary," Szijjarto continued. The visit of the Hungarian Foreign Minister to Moscow comes amid escalating conflict in the Middle East between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, threatening to disrupt the international energy market.  The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the 'closure' of the Strait of Hormuz, the most critical energy route, through which almost 20 percent of global oil supplies pass, warning that any ship attempting to pass through the Hormuz would be attacked by missiles or drones. In addition, the Foreign Minister intended to return two Hungarian nationals who were forcefully conscripted into the Ukrainian army and then captured during the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. "We take care of every Hungarian person, we protect every Hungarian regardless of where they are in the world. Unfortunately, in the recent period of forced conscriptions in Ukraine, many Hungarian people were taken to the Ukrainian front. Unfortunately, many have died, many are missing, and some have been captured by the Russians," he said. Szijjarto is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later that day to discuss the Druzhba pipeline, which has been shut since late January. Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately halting oil supplies for political reasons, while Kiev claims the line was damaged by a 'Russian attack'. Hungary has halted diesel supplies to Ukraine and blocked the 20th package of EU sanctions on Russia, and said it would halt the bloc's latest €90 billion loan to Ukraine unless the oil supply through the pipeline continues. The Druzhba pipeline has long been a key route for Russian oil deliveries to parts of Central Europe, including Hungary, even as the EU has moved to curb reliance following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022."