Hungarian, Russian senior officials discuss safety of gas deliveries via TurkStream

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday that he discussed with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksander Novak the safety of gas deliveries via the TurkStream gas pipeline.

The two officials also spoke about oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline and protection of the nuclear sector from sanctions at a meeting in Moscow, Szijjarto said on Facebook.

The Hungarian government voiced concern over the security of energy infrastructure in Europe following the explosions on Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea that transported Russian gas to Germany.

According to the Hungarian official, Novak reassured him of the safety and stability of supplies via the TurkStream.

Hungary receives most of the gas through the TurkStream pipeline and its branches, going via Bulgaria and Serbia. Last year, it imported 4.8 billion cubic meters of Russian fuel via this route.

Szijjarto also said Hungary extended an agreement with Russia on additional gas deliveries and got Gazprom's approval for the preferential payment regime for the main volumes of fuel.

At the talks, it was also decided that Hungary would be able to receive "deferred payments above a certain limit in the event of an extreme increase in gas prices," the minister said.

Also, the Hungarian company MOL will settle payments for the transit of the Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline directly with Ukraine, as it goes through its territory, he added.

According to Szijjarto, Moscow and Budapest also decided to make amendments to an agreement on the construction of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant to avoid sanctions.

"We must strive to ensure that Paks-2 is built as quickly as possible, despite all the difficulties, because the sooner new units are built, the sooner we will be protected from completely insane price movements in the international energy market," he noted.

Szijjarto added: "Brussels has already realized that without nuclear energy there can be no energy security and a European green transition."

"And we in Hungary know very well that a nuclear power plant is necessary for affordable and safe energy," the Hungarian foreign minister also said.