Hungary secures Russian gas amid Ukraine's supply halt
Even if Ukraine cuts off Russian gas supplies, we will still import it via the southern corridor with the help of Romania and Bulgaria, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a press conference on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday that he would not agree to the transit of Russian gas; the agreement on this matter expires at the end of the year. He added that Kyiv might consider transit if Russia receives the money only after the war ends.
Orban declared on Saturday that even if Ukraine cuts off the supplies, Hungary will import Russian gas with the help of Bulgaria and Romania.
He explained that the Bulgarian government guaranteed the supply of the resource to Hungary when last year Sofia planned to introduce additional transit fees through its territory. Budapest then threatened to block Bulgaria's entry to the Schengen area.
- Bulgaria is a key country for Hungary, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine, as it provides the only reliable way to supply essential energy resources to Hungary, said Orban during an official visit to Sofia on Friday.
In December, the EU Council decided to fully include Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area from the beginning of the next year. On Saturday, Orban presented this as a success of the Hungarian presidency, announcing that the number of border crossings with Romania would increase from 12 to 22.
The only such country in the EU
Hungary is the only member of the European Union that has not reduced its import of gas from Russia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine – it currently accounts for over 80 per cent of the resources imported there.
In September 2021, Orban's government signed a 15-year contract with Gazprom to supply 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas annually. In October, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto conveyed that his country will import as much as 6.7 billion cubic metres of Russian gas in 2024, simultaneously informing about the signing of a memorandum enabling an increase in the import of the resource.
