The US has exempted Hungary from sanctions against Gazprombank for three months, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a press conference during his visit to Bulgaria, TASS reported. However, Budapest has negotiated an alternative payment method with Moscow for Russian gas.
“We managed to reach an agreement with the US side that sanctions related to Gazprombank would be exempted for three months. The danger was averted. We also negotiated alternative methods of payment for Russian gas,” the Hungarian leader was quoted by MTI news agency as saying.
Gazprombank - Russia's third-largest bank and the main bank for oil, gas and energy-related transactions - is the last major Russian bank to retain access to the SWIFT international payments system.
According to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary is now relatively safe for several months. He also affirmed that the transportation of Russian gas to Hungary via Bulgaria will also be guaranteed.
Reuters reported on December 21 that Hungary is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine about continuing to transport gas through Ukraine, even though the country currently imports Russian gas through the Turkstream pipeline.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the parties are discussing the possibility that the gas entering Ukraine will no longer be Russian gas but will belong to the buyer. "At that time, the gas entering Ukraine will no longer be Russian gas but will be Hungarian gas," he said.
According to the Hungarian leader, negotiations are ongoing and it is not clear whether Russia and Ukraine will accept this method. However, he affirmed that Hungary will not give up the gas pipeline route through Ukraine.
The pipeline through Ukraine is one of the last major routes for Russian gas to Europe. However, the pipeline through Ukraine will cease operations at the end of this year because Kiev has not agreed to extend a five-year transit agreement. The gas will be sent to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria.
In 2024, Hungary will import about 7.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline and additional quantities via Romania. Hungary also has a domestic gas production of about 1-1.5 billion cubic meters, Mr. Orban said.
On December 20, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of a gas crisis as Ukraine continued to refuse to extend gas transit through its territory amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
