Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Serbian Republic’s Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antić have concluded an agreement on the construction of a natural gas pipeline traversing the Hungarian-Serbian border and on cooperation relating to its operation.
Following the signing of the agreement in Budapest on Friday, Minister Szijjártó highlighted that the security of Hungary's gas supply is a national security and national strategic issue. He pointed out that no transit agreement for next year has yet been concluded between Russia and Ukraine. “In addition, Hungary’s allies are late with the bringing of decisions that would facilitate Hungary being able to purchase gas from other sources,” he said.
According to MTI, the Minister said the potential purchasing opportunity from the south, along the Turkey-Bulgaria-Serbia route, was the most realistic alternative. “The capacity pre-purchasing procedure for the Serbian-Hungarian border interconnector will be published in September. The level of investment realized by Hungary will depend on the volume of capacity pledged by the various gas trading companies,” the Minister said.
“The procedure will be completed by the end of September, following which the trading contracts will be signed, construction will commence next summer, and the Serbian-Hungarian interconnector will be established by the end of 2021,” he added.
Photo credit: MTI