FM Szijjártó holds talks with Gazprom CEO, says Hungary ready for winter

Hungary is ready for the heating season and natural gas supplies are continuous from the south, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in St Petersburg on Friday, adding that the country’s energy security was “guaranteed in the long term”.

Szijjártó held talks with Alexey Miller, the CEO of Russia’s state gas company Gazprom, and the foreign ministry quoted him as highlighting the importance of the Turk Stream gas pipeline in terms of Hungary’s gas supplies, as well as Hungary’s 15-year gas purchase agreement with Gazprom, signed in 2021.

“The long-term agreement and the secure transit route in the south guarantee that natural gas delivery for Hungary is uninterrupted and stable despite an extremely difficult geopolitical environment,” Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement.

“Gazprom is meeting its commitments taken in the 2021 agreement; Turkiye, Bulgaria, and Serbia, as reliable transit countries, ensure a continuous supply of gas from Russia to Hungary,” the minister said.

He noted that Hungary had received some 5.6 billion cubic metres of gas via Turk Stream last year, while since the beginning of 2024, the volume of gas received had amounted to 4.8 billion, highlighting the increasing importance of the southern route.

“Our gas storage facilities are 89 percent full … an amount which could cover 57 percent of Hungary’s annual demand,” Szijjártó said, adding that the European average of gas reserves was 27 percent of the total storage capacity.

Szijjártó highlighted Gazprom’s commitment to meeting their contracted obligations in full and said “our commitment is the same; this is a mutually beneficial agreement that we would not give up in any way.”

“Purchasing natural gas from Russia does not fall under any sanctions and our goal is clear: we want to and will ensure Hungary’s energy supplies and will not accept any related restrictions,” he said.

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