Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary and Slovakia have increased the maximum capacity of the gas pipeline between the two countries to continue receiving gas from Russia, after Ukraine stopped gas transit through its territory.
"We have resolved the issue of gas supply to Slovakia and Hungary, even though Ukraine has caused us very serious difficulties. To ensure a stable gas supply to Slovakia via Hungary even if transit through Ukraine is stopped, we have had to increase the capacity of the pipeline connecting the two countries," Szijjarto said at a press conference after a meeting with Acting President of the Slovakian Parliament Peter Ziga in the border town of Komarom on April 1. His speech was broadcast by M1 TV channel.
"Currently, the gas pipeline between Hungary and Slovakia is operating at increased capacity. We have increased the capacity of this pipeline by 900 million cubic meters per year. Previously, 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas were transported between the two countries each year. From today, this figure will increase to 3.5 billion cubic meters" - Mr. Szijjarto said.
Foreign Minister Szijjarto also emphasized that, compared to last years record volumes, gas transported from Hungary to Slovakia has increased by 50% in the first three months of this year.
Hungary's foreign minister criticized Ukraine's suspension of Russian gas transit from January 1, 2025, which has caused serious problems in Central Europe. However, Hungary and Slovakia have found a solution without help from the European Union (EU).
"I cannot say anything about the support from the EU, because there is no assistance," Szijjarto stressed. Budapest and Bratislava have asked Kiev to resume the transit of Russian gas to Central Europe and hope to receive support from Brussels, but the issue has not been resolved.
Hungary continues to receive the majority of Russian gas under long-term contracts with Gazprom via the TurkStream gas pipeline and its branches expanding through Bulgaria and Serbia.
According to Hungarian data, the volume of gas imported from Russia will reach 5.6 billion cubic meters in 2023 and increase to a record 7.6 billion cubic meters in 2024. Hungary is also supplying gas to neighboring Slovakia.
