Hungary is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine to maintain gas supplies even though Russian gas is now being imported through the TurkStream pipeline, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday, 21 December.

Hungary is in talks with Russia and Ukraine on keeping open gas shipments via Ukraine even though its Russian gas imports now come via the Turkstream pipeline, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday,

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that European leaders must acknowledge the need to change their strategy regarding Ukraine.

Hungary is seeking a solution that would allow gas flows to Europe via Ukraine to continue once the current transit contract between Moscow and Kyiv expires, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Budapest is in talks with Russia and Ukraine on keeping open gas shipments via Ukraine even though its Russian gas imports now come via the Turkstream pipeline.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin on Sunday, a rare visit by a European Union leader to Moscow as a contract allowing for Russian gas to transit through Ukraine nears expiry.

The EU has a non-binding goal of stopping all Russian energy imports by 2027. “The end of Ukraine transit could speed up this decoupling, and would also imply a loss of $6.5 billion annually for Russia, unless it can redirect these flows to other pipelines or LNG terminals,” Bruegel said.

Ukraine, Russia unable to finalize gas transit deal amid Azerbaijani mediation Despite Hungary currently importing Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline, Orban emphasized that he does not intend to abandon the transit route through Ukraine.

Hungary is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine to maintain Russian gas supplies through our country, reports Reuters. This is despite the fact that gas imports from Russia are now carried out through the Turkish Stream pipeline.

Even if Ukraine halts Russian gas supplies, we will continue to import it through the southern corridor with the assistance of Romania and Bulgaria, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a press conference on Saturday.