Hungary appears confident it will remain untouched amid rising concerns in Europe over the impending halt in the transit of natural gas via Ukraine, thanks to the TurkStream pipeline, the country's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister said recently.
While the agreement on the natural gas transit through Ukraine is set to expire with the new year, potentially straining supplies to European countries dependent on Russian energy, Peter Szijjarto struck a reassuring tone in his recent interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), published on Sunday.
"When it comes to the cutting of the transit through Ukraine, it doesn’t have any kind of impact on us," Szijjarto said, speaking on the sidelines of the Istanbul Energy Forum, organized last week by AA under the auspices of Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.
He highlighted the international cooperation that went into constructing the pipeline, which runs via the Black Sea from Russia to Türkiye, from where it can connect to other routes to Europe.
"Together with Türkiye, Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, we have built the TurkStream pipeline," he explained, adding that Hungary currently imports a record of over 20 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas daily.
"This year, more than 6.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) have arrived in Hungary through the TurkStream,” he said. "This is more than last year in its entirety."
Thanks to this infrastructure, Hungary does not need alternative routes, Szijjarto emphasized. "We don’t need it because of the TurkStream."
Describing relations with Türkiye as "strategic," Szijjarto highlighted the strong personal ties between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
He noted key achievements in bilateral ties this year, including Hungary becoming the first non-neighboring country to import natural gas from Türkiye, with an initial purchase of 250 million cubic meters.
Hungary’s gas trading company is now working with Türkiye’s Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) to finalize a new contract for future deliveries.
"The further cooperation with (Turkish energy company) BOTAŞ is very important. We are working on renewing last year's agreement," Laszlo Fritsch, the CEO of Hungary’s state-owned energy company MVM CEEnergy, said on Friday's sidelines of the energy forum.
Fritsch said that Hungary aims "to reach a deal by the end of this year," stretching into the future.
Szijjarto also pointed to plans for deeper collaboration between the two sides' oil companies.
He said that cooperation also extends to nuclear energy, with both countries sharing similar goals, investing in capacity expansion and utilizing technology provided by Rosatom. "We look at the expertise of each other, we share practices and experiences, and we help to train the nuclear engineers and experts of each other," he said.
Szijjarto underscored the importance of concluding the gas delivery agreement and forming a strategic partnership between Hungary’s oil company MOL and Türkiye’s TPAO so they can participate in joint projects. "These are the most important goals we would like to reach next year," he added.
Szijjarto expressed concern over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and its impact on Hungary, which borders Ukraine.
He criticized measures by the current U.S. administration under President Joe Biden, such as its approval of Kyiv using long-range missiles against targets in Russia and sanctions targeting Gazprombank.
He warned that such actions could escalate the war and complicate peace efforts for incoming administrations.
"This is an obvious signal that in the last days of this administration, they do not really care about any consequences," said Szijjarto.
