Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto was in Moscow July 21 to negotiate the purchase of close to a billion cubic meters of gas, a significant increase over the original amount proposed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Budapest’s request for additional gas would be “immediately forwarded and studied.”
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’s trip is a rare visit from a top EU official to Moscow, since Russia’s Ukraine military operation in February. “In the current international situation, the most important thing for us is to ensure Hungary’s energy security. Therefore, I would like to talk and reach an agreement today on increasing the current volume of gas delivered to Hungary from Russia,” Szijjarto told a press conference.
Following negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he said the Hungarian government expects to purchase 700 million cubic meters of natural gas, in addition to the quantities already specified in the long-term contracts.
