Hungary extended the agreement with Russia on additional gas supplies

Budapest extended the agreement with Russia on additional gas supplies. This was announced by the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Peter Szijjarto, following his visit to Moscow and talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The recording of the minister’s speech was published on his Facebook page.

According to Siyarto, supplies will mainly go through the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.

At the end of the summer of last year, Szijarto said that Hungary agreed with Gazprom on additional gas supplies in the amount of about six million cubic meters per day starting in September instead of two and a half million cubic meters in August.

During today’s visit to Russia, the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry noted that the parties agreed on the postponement of payments for gas above a certain limit in the event of an extreme increase in fuel prices.

85 percent of natural gas supplies to Hungary come from Russia, so its continuity is extremely important, Szijarto emphasized.

Siyarto also reported that the issue of payment for the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia to Europe via Ukraine was discussed at the negotiations. Now Hungary will pay directly with Ukraine, through whose territory the oil pipeline runs. Payment will be made by MOL.

In addition, Siyarto met with the head of the Russian state corporation “Rosatom” Alexei Lykhachyov and discussed the issue of the construction of the Paksh-2 nuclear power plant in Hungary. The parties agreed to make changes to the documentation so that processes related to the project would not fall under Western sanctions.

• Hungary is one of the few European countries that maintains contacts with Moscow and its allies against the background of Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
• For example, in February Siyarto visited Minsk, where he met with the Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Aleynyk. Before the start of the negotiations, the Hungarian diplomat admitted that he would be the object of criticism and noted the need to keep communication channels open. Sources of Radio Liberty then noted that during the meeting with the head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, the hotel would clarify the possibilities of Minsk to reduce tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
• Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February of last year forced many European countries to reduce the import of Russian energy resources – oil, natural gas and coal – in order to leave the Kremlin with foreign currency for waging war. In December, the European Union banned the import of Russian oil transported by tankers and set a price ceiling for oil exported from Russia. It is now 60 dollars per barrel.
• The European Union also sharply cut imports of Russian natural gas. Imports fell from 31 percent in the first quarter of last year to 19 percent in December. Norway has taken Russia’s place as the main supplier of gas to the European Union. 31 percent of the gas consumed by the countries of the European Union is currently imported from Norway. The USA became the second largest exporter of natural gas and the first largest exporter of oil.

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