BUDAPEST, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Hungary received a shipment of nuclear fuel for its nuclear plant from Russia by air on Wednesday, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict made delivery by rail impossible, the country's foreign minister said on Thursday.
"We were able to transport nuclear fuel to Hungary by air through the airspace of Belarus, Poland and Slovakia. We are done with the first such transport," Peter Szijjarto, minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in a video message posted on his Facebook page.
The Hungarian government has an obligation to guarantee the security of Hungarians, including energy security, and nuclear energy is another key element of energy security, Szijjarto said.
Transport of such material was carried out by rail from Russia via Ukraine to Hungary but has been interrupted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"The alternative mode of transport for nuclear fuel is by air, which of course requires extraordinary safety standards and preparations," he explained.
Szijjarto posted his message from Brussels, where his European colleagues were discussing a new sanctions package on Russia.
The Hungarian government will oppose all sanctions against Russia that would hinder the delivery of crude oil and natural gas to Hungary, he said.
"We have a red line: all activities related to the use of nuclear energy should be exempt from sanctions, as is the case with the transport of nuclear fuel by air," noted the minister.
The four units of the Paks power plant in central Hungary operate with a capacity of 2,000 megawatts, providing 49.6 percent of Hungarian electricity.
With this delivery, the operation of the plant is resolved for a long period, "so we can guarantee the security of Hungary's energy supply in the next period as well," Szijjarto said. ■