Budapest: Hungary is prepared to supply gas to Slovakia following the cessation of Russian gas transit via Ukraine, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto announced. He criticized Kyiv’s decision to halt the pumping of gas from Russia, calling it unacceptable, APA-Economics reports citing TASS.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, to ensure Slovakia’s energy security, Hungary may deliver specific volumes of gas supplied from Russia through the TurkStream pipeline and its branches in Bulgaria and Serbia. Szijjarto emphasized Hungary’s readiness to fully utilize its transit capacity to provide energy to Slovakia, as stated during a press conference.
In the previous year, Hungary received 7.6 billion cubic meters of gas via TurkStream, while the pipeline’s capacity and its extension to the north total 8.5 billion cubic meters. The spare capacity of approximately 900 million cubic meters could be used to enhance the pipeline’s capacity between Hungary and Slovakia, according to Szijjarto. This measure is aimed at securing Slovakia’s energy supply, which is no longer receiving Russian gas through Ukraine.
Szijjarto further commented on Kyiv’s decision to end the transit of Russian gas to Central European countries starting January 1, stating that it poses a threat to the region’s energy security. He remarked that it is unacceptable for a European Union candidate country to create energy supply issues for EU members.