It is not yet clear where Europe will find the missing supplies, according to András György Deák.Continue reading
Russia’s Gazprom reaffirmed its long-term commitment to maintaining gas supplies to Hungary.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó held talks with Alexey Miller, the CEO of Gazprom in Moscow on Wednesday, MTI reports. Following their meeting, the Minister announced in a Facebook video that the Russian gas company has reaffirmed its long-term commitment to continuing the operations of the TurkStream pipeline and maintaining gas supplies to Hungary.
“Hungary’s gas supplies are secure despite the current crisis,”
he stressed.
TurkStream is the only remaining route with uninterrupted gas delivery from Russia, as “delivery via the northern routes has in fact become impossible,” Szijjártó pointed out. He said that Gazprom will “shift the focus of its supplies” to the southern route and also redirect smaller supplies to Hungary via Austria to TurkStream, making Hungary’s energy supply “even more secure.”
Szijjártó is attending the Energy Week summit in Moscow. He wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that “this is a long-term crisis and it is an important question what will happen this winter, but it is equally important how we manage to supply Europe for the next 2-3 years.”
“Hungary is in favor of diversification, but this does not mean excluding Russian energy sources, but including as many sources as possible in European supplies,” he stressed. “The formula is very simple: the more sources we have, the cheaper and more secure our energy supply,” Szijjártó added.
At a meeting on Thursday, Szijjártó ensured Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Alexander Novak of Hungary’s intention to continue bilateral energy cooperation. “It is in Hungary’s national interest to secure the energy supply of our country by involving Russian energy resources. This is not a political or ideological issue, but a security issue,” Szijjártó wrote on Facebook. “Hungarian-Russian energy cooperation is essential to ensure that people and companies in Hungary do not face restrictions on energy use,” he added.
Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter