Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the supply of Azerbaijani natural gas to Central Europe through the so-called Solidarity Ring.Continue reading
The start of natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Hungary this year is an important step in the diversification of energy supplies, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in Chișinău on Wednesday.
At a joint press conference with his Moldovan counterpart, Nicu Popescu, Péter Szijjártó said that 100 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas will arrive in Hungary in 2023, which is not a large amount in terms of Hungarian consumption, but is the first step toward building a larger long-term contract.
However, the development of energy infrastructure in southeastern Europe is an extremely important prerequisite for this, as current capacity is not sufficient to make Azerbaijani gas a real diversification solution in central Europe, he warned.
This is an EU matter, an EU task. We rightly expect the European Union to finance developments that will increase the capacity of gas transportation infrastructure in southeastern Europe,”
the minister added.
Szijjártó criticized Brussels’ “unacceptable passivity” in this area.
We demand that the European Union provide financial resources for the development of natural gas transport infrastructure here in southeastern Europe,”
the politician stressed.
The natural gas from Azerbaijan is currently the most realistic alternative for Hungary and Moldova in terms of security of gas supply, the minister underlined.
This article was originally published on our sister site Ungarn Heute.
Featured photo via president.az