Hungary’s energy supply is secure, says Foreign Minister

BUDAPEST, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Hungary’s energy supply is not in danger, its foreign minister said on Wednesday. He added that the ongoing fighting in Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region also posed no threat to the country’s gas supply, as sufficient quantities of gas were being transported through other pipelines.

“Hungary’s energy supply is secure,” said Peter Szijjarto on Facebook.

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Russia’s Gazprom supplies gas to Hungary via the Turkstream pipeline through Turkey and Serbia.

“Hungary’s gas supply is on schedule and will not be affected by the situation (in Sudzha),” Szijjarto said.

In early August, Ukrainian forces crossed the border and captured several Russian cities, including Sudzha, through which Russia pumps gas from Western Siberia through Ukraine to the European Union.

Gas flows through the hub remained stable, even though Ukraine has stated that it has no plans to renew or extend the transit contract after it expires at the end of the year.

Szijjarto also said that negotiations on a solution to Kyiv’s decision to ban Russian oil exporter Lukoil from using its infrastructure at the end of June were “in the final stages”.

Both Hungary and Slovakia, two landlocked countries whose refineries are supplied with Russian oil via the Druzhba or Friendship pipeline, had warned of possible fuel shortages as a result of the measure.

“The negotiations are nearing the finish line … so that we can say that we have secured Hungary’s crude oil supply beyond the temporary measures necessary for the short– and medium circulation,” Szijjarto said, without giving further details.

Hungary says it has maintained pragmatic relations with Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to tensions with some European Union allies seeking a harder line.

(Reporting by Anita Komuves and Boldizsar Gyori, editing by Alan Charlish, Kirsten Donovan)