Opposition wants to make Hungary’s new gas contract with Russia public

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) demands that the government should make the latest Russian gas contract public, party spokesman Balázs Barkóczi said on Friday.

He told an online press conference that according to press reports, the government plans to take out a forex loan of 736 billion forints (EUR 1.9bn) which would be “handed over to Russia in one piece”. If Hungary indeed gets only 740 million cubic metres of gas for this amount, it means that “we will pay exactly as much as everyone else and there is no sign of Russian gas purchased at one-fifth of the market price”, he added.

“Such a gas purchase bought from a gigantic loan will only benefit Russia’s war machine hit by European sanctions and Russian President Vladimir Putin but surely not Hungarian families,” he added.

• Read also: Hungarian government wants to buy much more Russian gas

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Thursday about Hungary’s plan to buy an extra 700 million cubic metres of gas from Russia on top of the volume included in long-term contracts. Szijjártó said after the talks that Hungary’s full energy security must be guaranteed and the government’s aim is to ensure that all Hungarian families and companies have a sufficient amount of gas.

Read also Lavrov: Russia to consider Hungary’s request for more gas purchases

Source: MTI