Speaking in Moscow, the foreign minister said Hungary has taken all the necessary measures to receive the extra volume and to make the financial resources available. Péter Szijjártó said that in the upcoming week, around a daily 20 million cubic metres of inflow capacity will be available on the southern route and on interconnectors from Slovakia and Austria. Talks have been underway for some time on professional and company levels, but a political agreement is also required, and the current meeting aims to enable the sides to complete the transaction and for transfers to start as soon as possible, he said.
According to MTI, the minister said the other purpose of the visit was to make it clear that Hungary wants peace in Ukraine without delay because the war has tragic consequences. “We are asking everyone to make every effort to ensure the war ends as soon as possible and for peace to return. We would like to see an immediate ceasefire and peace talks,” he said. Minister Szijjártó also said that the return of spheres of influence around the world would go against Hungary’s national interests. “We don’t want a world order where we again find ourselves in the periphery of a bloc, in a buffer zone or in an area next to a buffer zone,” he added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would readily consider Hungary’s request for further gas purchases.
“The implementation of the long-term agreements on Russian natural gas exports signed last year is fully in line with our countries’ interests,” Lavrov said. “Our colleagues informed us today that the Hungarian government has expressed interest in making further gas purchases this year.”
“We will report on this request and look into it without delay,” he said.
Photo credit: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter