Hungary Seeks to Maintain Russian Gas Shipments Through Ukraine
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Hungary is in talks with Russia and Ukraine to keep open gas shipments via Ukraine, even though its Russian gas imports now primarily come through the TurkStream pipeline, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Saturday, as reported by Reuters. Orban emphasized his desire to maintain the Ukrainian transit route for gas.
The pipeline through Ukraine is one of the last major Russian gas routes to Europe, but it is scheduled to shut down at the end of the year. Kyiv has so far refused to extend a five-year transit agreement, which currently allows gas to flow to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Austria.
"We are now trying the trick ... that what if the gas, by the time it enters the territory of Ukraine, would no longer be Russian but would be already in the ownership of the buyers," Orban explained at a briefing. "So the gas that enters Ukraine would no longer be Russian gas but it would be Hungarian gas."
Orban indicated that negotiations are ongoing but acknowledged uncertainty regarding whether Russia and Ukraine will agree to this arrangement. However, he asserted that Hungary will not abandon the Ukrainian transit route for gas.
Hungary's gas imports this year have included approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas via TurkStream and additional volumes through Romania. Orban also noted that Hungary has domestic gas production of around 1-1.5 billion cubic meters.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of a potential gas crisis on Friday, highlighting Ukraine's ongoing refusal to extend the transit of natural gas through its territory due to the ongoing war.