BUDAPEST - Hungary issued a key permit for the Russian-led expansion of its sole nuclear power plant, bolstering the nation's energy links with Moscow even as European Union peers seek to distance themselves over the invasion of Ukraine.
"This permit is a real turning point, a milestone that makes it possible for Hungary to have two new reactors by 2030," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Friday. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has maintained that nuclear power is a crucial part of its energy mix, which is otherwise highly reliant on Russian oil and gas.