HUNGARY
Viktor Orban – Hungarian Prime Minister
Orban told Kossuth Radio on Friday that a complete embargo on Russian gas would “destroy” the European Union’s economy. The Hungarian premier stressed Budapest was right to have a “hard” stance and demand help when it came to banning Russian oil products. He also noted the EU should start communicating “in a voice of peace” to actually achieve that in Ukraine.
SWEDEN
Ann Linde – Swedish Foreign Minister
Linde told the country’s parliament on Friday that it is ready to “make progress on the questions that Turkey has raised” regarding its concerns over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) expansion “in a constructive spirit.” She also said that Sweden’s application to the alliance “received broad support among NATO members,” further underlining that the country will “in solidarity contribute to the entire security of NATO, including Turkey.”
JAPAN
Fumio Kishida – Prime Minister
Japan will “fundamentally reinforce Japan’s defense capabilities within the next five years,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed in Singapore on Friday, delivering a keynote address to open the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.
BRAZIL
Paulo Guedes – Minister of Economy
Guedes on Thursday asked food supply chain entrepreneurs to “put a brake on price hikes” to reduce inflation. He spoke so that a new table of values will be updated only in 2023, reinforcing Brazil President’s request and said it applies to the entire supply chain in Brazil.