Budapest hopes that 9.8 billion cubic meters (346 billion cubic feet) of gas will reach Hungary via the TurkStream pipeline by the end of 2021, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told reporters on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2019) Budapest hopes that 9.8 billion cubic meters (346 billion cubic feet) of gas will reach Hungary via the TurkStream pipeline by the end of 2021, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto told reporters on Friday."We hope that by the end of 2021, 9.8 billion cubic meters of gas will reach Hungary from the south," Szijjarto said.
He also stated that Hungary was interested in diversifying its resources, and TurkStream would be a great opportunity for it.
"The most likely scenario in diversification will be the TurkStream. We hope the Bulgarian phase of the pipeline construction will be completed in due time. We see that our Serbian friends are meeting deadlines. We are preparing an open season procedure [to ensure all parties having open access] for the Serbia-Hungary section," Szijjarto said.
Szijjarto's words regarding Bulgaria's work were said amid slight tensions between Moscow and Sofia over the pipeline as Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Bulgaria in early December of purposely delaying construction on its territory, implying that Sofia could be under foreign pressure. Putin also said that alternative routes could be considered if Bulgaria continues to slow the process down.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov denied any deliberate delays, saying that the country has simply been following the EU's procurement rules. Moreover, Borissov on Thursday told the Russian ambassador in Sofia, Anatoly Makarov, that his country was ready to confirm that Russian gas would go through its territory to Serbia on May 31, 2020.
The TurkStream is projected to be a 577-mile twin pipeline that will transfer gas from large reserves in Russia to Turkey and further up to southern and southeastern Europe. The launch is expected on January 8, 2020.
