Hungary is in negotiations with Russia’s Gazprom for additional gas supplies for 2024, as confirmed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in remarks to Russia’s RIA news agency on October 15. Szijjártó stated that an agreement for extra volumes at competitive prices has already been signed for the last quarter of this year, and discussions are ongoing for next year’s supplies.
The Russian energy company recently announced that it had signed a memorandum with Hungary regarding a potential increase in gas sales, although specific details were not provided. This memorandum includes provisions for additional agreements to long-term contracts, ensuring price competitiveness for the future.
Additionally, Hungary and Gazprom recently finalized a deal that allows full utilization of the TurkStream gas pipeline. This pipeline, which was completed just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, transports Russian gas under the Black Sea to Turkey and then on to Bulgaria. While Bulgaria does not import gas from this pipeline, it facilitates transit to Serbia and further to Hungary. Szijjártó noted that this deal enables Budapest to increase gas volumes purchased under “all commercial contracts.”
Currently, Russia exports natural gas to Europe through two primary routes: a Soviet-era pipeline crossing Ukraine and the TurkStream pipeline. However, the gas transit deal with Ukraine is set to expire at the end of the year.
In a separate statement, Szijjártó indicated that Hungary would veto any European Union sanctions on Russia if the exemption allowing Hungary to purchase Russian oil were to be revoked. He emphasized that sanctions are typically reviewed every six months and that existing exceptions must remain in place to avoid a veto.
In September, Hungarian energy group MOL secured an agreement for the continuous supply of Russian oil through Belarus and Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline. This decision came after concerns about supply security arose following Kyiv’s addition of Russia’s Lukoil to a sanctions list in June. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has imposed sanctions on Moscow, which include a ban on Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products, albeit with some limited exemptions.
