Hungary has begun negotiations with Turkey at the company level on receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a Turkish terminal, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday
BUDAPEST (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2023) Hungary has begun negotiations with Turkey at the company level on receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a Turkish terminal, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.
"Commercial negotiations have already begun between (Hungarian energy company) MVM and a Turkish state-owned oil and gas company regarding the schedule and volumes of the increasing amounts of Turkish gas that we can include in the Hungarian market," Szijjarto said at a joint press conference with Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank.
Szijjarto added that TurkStream remained the only gas pipeline that "works 100 percent, providing supplies between the East and the West."
In addition, the foreign minister reiterated the idea that the EU should participate in the construction of routes for the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, since this is in the interests of the entire region.
In late September, Szijjarto said that the volume of gas coming from Azerbaijan to Europe will double in the coming years, making it the "most realistic opportunity" to diversify European energy supply. The Hungarian Foreign Ministry said that Budapest was working to diversify gas supplies to the country, but found it impossible to replace Russian energy resources in the short term.
In addition to increasing imports of Azerbaijani gas, Hungary is interested in increasing LNG supplies to the country through a terminal in Croatia's Krka and developing a gas field in Romania.
After the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 and the adoption of several packages of sanctions against Moscow by the EU, the bloc has dramatically curbed its imports of Russian gas while looking for alternatives, following its pledge to end its dependence on energy supplies from the country.
