Hungary’s new leader has vowed to rid his country of Russian influence. It will be a painful transition.

Kyiv – In the early hours Peter Magyar has been defeated The long-time leader of Hungary Viktor Orbán in Sunday’s historic election, Magyar supporters filled the streets of Budapest chanting “Russian out!”

The authority was clear the next prime ministerwho had described Orbán as a “Kremlin puppet” in his campaign speeches and had long promised to reduce Russian influence in Hungary.

The question now is whether Magyar will fulfill that promise. As he tries to extricate Hungary from Russia’s sphere of influence, he faces a central roadblock: Magyar will have to find ways to wean his country off of cheap Russian energy products, which, during years of close relations, have become victims of Hungary’s ailing economy.

Experts say there are alternatives to Russian power – but they warn that the new prime minister and his representatives will have to accept financial exchanges to make the transition.

During his 16 years in power, Orbán deepened Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil, gas and nuclear power. Hungary receives most of its crude oil through Russia’s Druzhba pipeline, and most of its natural gas through contracts with Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom.

Hungary’s nuclear power industry relies heavily on Russian state-owned company Rosatom, which has been building reactors at the Hungarian Paks Nuclear Power Plant since 2014.

A certain level of trust was hard to avoid. Hungary is a landlocked country with limited direct access to global energy markets, making pipeline infrastructure a core asset. Most of its crude oil comes through the Druzhba pipeline, and its refineries are directly measured against Russian crude, making diversification technically and financially challenging.

But there are other ways.

“Frankly, Hungary could do without Russian oil and gas,” Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told CBS News.

Domestic oil consumption in Hungary, Vakulenko said, can be covered by the Adria pipeline, which transports crude from the Adriatic Sea to refineries in Croatia, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia. Vakulenko noted that Hungary may also rely heavily on the continental European power grid to meet its gas needs, albeit at a higher cost.

Throughout his campaign, Magyar has signaled that he is willing to turn to these alternative energy sources. Anita Orbán, the woman expected to serve as his foreign minister (not related to Viktor Orbán), has identified reducing Russia’s use of force as a top priority for the new government.

“Being less dependent on Russian power has been his thing for 20 years,” Balázs Váradi, founder of the Budapest Institute for Policy Analysis, told CBS News.

Change will be expensive.

Vakulenko noted that oil imported through the Adria pipeline will carry a higher international market price than the reduced rates Hungary has been paying due to Russian pollution. Hungary continues to rely heavily on Russian fuel to power its nuclear power plant.

Stopping the trend of Russian natural gas will also be difficult for Hungary.

The European Union, of which Hungary is a member, has pledged to end imports of Russian natural gas by 2027, but even Magyar admitted during his campaign that his country may not be able to meet that deadline.

Instead he targeted a 2035 termination.

“He may negotiate the deadline,” said Varadi. “Magyar’s policy objective will be clear, but he will be struggling, so I expect them to negotiate hard with the EU to get more funds as a quid pro quo.”

In his first press conference since the April 12 election, Magyar was open about these challenges.

“No one can change the geography. Russia and Hungary will stay here. The government will buy crude oil and gas in the cheapest and safest way,” he said.

Even so, experts still have high hopes that a gradual recovery may continue.

“None of these points completely kills him,” said Vakulenko. “But this is a principled decision as opposed to an economic one.”