Hungary, Russia sign deal on gas supplies bypassing Ukraine
That’s according to Reuters referring to Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Ukrinform reports.
The new contract is designed for 15 years with the possibility of terms revision in 10 years. Under the deal, Hungary shall annually receive from Russia 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas: 3.5 billion via Serbia through the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and its overland extension, and 1 billion cubic meters via Austria.
Szijjarto said most of the volume under the new contract would come through a new interconnector on the country's border with Serbia, which will have launched operations by October.
That is, Russian gas will be supplied to Hungary bypassing Ukraine.
Szijjarto stopped short of revealing the gas price under the new contract, only saying it was "much more favorable" than the current one.
Russia's Gazprom has confirmed the meeting with the Hungarian minister but has not yet announced any details of the agreement.
It is worth noting that most of its gas imports, supplied through Ukraine, Hungary has been receiving from Russia. However, in recent years, the country has diversified gas imports by opening cross-border interconnectors with most of its neighbors and securing supplies from Royal Dutch Shell through a liquefied natural gas terminal in Croatia.
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