OREANDA-NEWS The volume of gas entering Hungary from Russia through Ukraine can be redirected to the Turkish Stream if transit stops after 2024, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto said.

"Hungary has taken timely measures to ensure that diversification efforts concern not only sources, but also routes... After all, why do we need routes if there are no sources, and why do we need sources if there are no routes? Both are needed for gas supplies. Therefore, it is very important that there is a Turkish Stream gas pipeline, because its capacity to Hungary is 8.5 billion cubic meters and it can fully include the entire volume of gas coming from Russia to Hungary under a long-term contract," Szijjarto said at a press conference that was broadcast on the social network.
The current transit agreements between Russia and Ukraine expire in 2024.

In March, Szijjarto stated that Budapest does not plan to stop gas supplies from Russia, since it cannot provide itself with gas without fuel sources in the Russian Federation.

At the end of 2019, Russia and Ukraine signed a package of agreements on the continuation of gas transit through the country, including a transit contract for five years, according to which Gazprom guarantees the pumping of 65 billion cubic meters of gas in the first year and 40 billion each in the next four. These arrangements ensured the continuation of transit after the expiration of the previous contract.