Hungary has no plans to stop buying gas from Russia, minister says
ST PETERSBURG, June 6 (Reuters) - Hungary is pleased with its cooperation with Russia on gas supplies and has no plans to stop purchasing gas from Moscow despite pressure to do so, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.
While countries in western Europe have made serious efforts to wean themselves off Russian gas, landlocked Hungary has been receiving 4.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Russia under a 15-year deal signed in 2021.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
Szijjarto, who was in St Petersburg for an economic forum, told reporters that obtaining the gas that Hungary needs was a "physical issue", not political or ideological.
The gas transits mainly through the Turkstream pipeline, which allows Moscow to bypass Ukraine in carrying Russian gas to southern Europe.
Hungary is the only member of the European Union whose leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has maintained friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is also a member of NATO.
(Reporting by Vladimir SoldatkinWriting by Maxim RodionovEditing by Bernadette Baum)