Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Budapest is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine to maintain gas supplies, even though Russian gas is imported through the TurkStream pipeline.
Points of attention
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is utilizing a clever strategy to ensure the continued transit of Russian gas through Ukraine by suggesting that the gas becomes the property of Hungarian buyers upon entering Ukrainian territory.
- The negotiations between Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine revolve around maintaining gas supplies through Ukraine despite the existence of the TurkStream pipeline, which poses a challenge to traditional transit routes.
- Ukraine is bracing for the cessation of Russian gas transit as the current agreement expires, asserting that there will be no new agreement with the aggressor state and exploring alternatives to continue gas transit to European countries.
- Hungary's reliance on Russian gas imports via Ukraine underscores the importance of finding innovative solutions to preserve energy security and avoid disruptions in the supply chain.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine emphasizes the country's stance on not allowing Russia to profit from gas transit and exploring options to transit gas to European countries while avoiding payments to Russia amidst ongoing conflict.
Orban is using tricks to get Russian gas through Ukraine
Orban said this at a briefing on December 21.
We are now trying a trick... what if the gas, when it enters the territory of Ukraine, would no longer be Russian, but would be owned by the buyers. Thus, the gas that enters Ukraine would no longer be Russian, but would be Hungarian.
Viktor Orban
Prime Minister of Hungary
According to him, "negotiations are ongoing," and it is currently unclear whether the Russian partner and Ukraine will agree to this, but Hungary will not give up the Ukrainian transit route for gas.
This year, Hungary has imported about 7.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline and additional volumes through Romania. According to Orbán, domestic gas production is about 1-1.5 billion cubic meters.
The pipeline, which runs through Ukraine, is one of the last major routes for Russian gas to Europe, but it is due to be closed at the end of this year because Kyiv does not want to extend a five-year transit agreement that supplies gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria.
Ukraine will not supply transit Russian gas to Europe
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko stated during the German-Ukrainian Business Forum in Berlin that Ukraine had been carefully preparing for the cessation of Russian gas transit for a long time, including testing the resistance of the GTS.
This year, the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, signed between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gazprom, expires. The state's position on this issue is unwavering: there will be no new agreement with the aggressor state.
Ukraine is ready to transit gas to European countries if it is not gas of Russian origin.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a meeting of the European Council in Brussels.
If a European country is ready to receive gas and not pay Russia until the war is over, we can think about it. But we will not give the Russian Federation the opportunity to earn additional income.
He noted that Ukraine is also not satisfied with the option of transiting gas from a country that, in turn, buys gas from Russia.
"This is the same as continuing to transfer money to Russia," Zelenskyy emphasized.
