
AFP
Hungary’s foreign minister says he wants to discuss ensuring gas supplies for his country and finding a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.
Hungary’s foreign minister has arrived in Moscow where he wants to talk about ensuring gas supplies for his country and finding a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine.
Peter Szijjarto will meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and deputy prime minister Alexander Novak, state news agency MTI reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesman.
Szijjarto and Lavrov were expected to hold a news conference later on Thursday.
“We have arrived in Moscow. We have two tasks ahead: to ensure that there will be natural gas supplies for Hungarian people and stress that we want peace as soon as possible,” Szijjarto posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Under a 15-year deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom signed last year, Hungary receives 3.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year via Bulgaria and Serbia, and a further 1 bcm through a pipeline from Austria.
Szijjarto said earlier that Budapest was in talks to buy more gas on the market before the heating season as countries in Europe scramble to fill up and as energy prices skyrocket.
He also said on Monday that Hungary was in talks with Russia about redirecting all the gas shipments under the long-term supply deal to the Turkstream pipeline that brings gas to Hungary via Serbia.