Hungarian FM: Greece key in diversification of Hungary’s gas supply

Hungarian-Greek cooperation will have an important part to play in managing the global crises stemming from the war in Ukraine, and Greece has a key role in diversifying Hungary’s natural gas supply, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Athens on Wednesday.

The armed conflict may trigger global crises in food and energy supply, and Greece is playing an important role in handling both shortages, Szijjártó told a press conference he held with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.

The Hungarian government considers energy supply a “matter of reason, physics and mathematics” rather than “an ideological or philosophical issue”, he said. For this reason, it does not support any proposal that would jeopardise Hungary’s energy supply, Szijjártó said.

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“We have insisted on the right to purchase oil from Russia and rule out the chance of being not allowed to buy Russian natural gas. Simultaneously, it is in our interest to have access to gas from several sources and on several routes, which, of course, requires investment, as well as plenty of money and time,” he said.

Hungary has two viable scenarios for diversification; it may purchase gas from Azerbaijan and the eastern Mediterranean via an exclusive route through Greece, which would involve major investment in infrastructure, he said.