Russian energy exports to EU nation hit record high

Hungary imported a record volume of natural gas from Russia in 2024 via the TurkStream pipeline, the EU country’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, has said.

The Hungarian diplomat was speaking following a meeting on Thursday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the II Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security. The two ministers discussed issues of energy cooperation between Moscow and Budapest.

Szijjarto said that 6.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas has been supplied this year from Russia to Hungary via the TurkStream pipeline and its branches through Bulgaria and Serbia. “This is the largest volume of gas to date” in annual terms, the minister said.

The TurkStream gas pipeline runs from Russia to Türkiye via the Black Sea and then continues to the border with EU member Greece.

Russia is a reliable energy supplier, according to Szijjarto, who said “the security and competitiveness of Hungary’s energy supplies is guaranteed thanks to reasonable cooperation with Russia.” 

Budapest is among several EU members that continue to rely on Russian gas deliveries, despite the sharp drop in supplies to the bloc due to sanctions on Moscow and the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.

The transit line through Ukraine and the European arm of TurkStream are the only two remaining conduits for piped Russian gas to reach central and southern Europe. Kiev has said its current transit agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom will not be prolonged when it expires at the end of the year.

Earlier this year, Szijjarto said Hungary no longer needs Ukrainian infrastructure for the supply of Russian natural gas thanks to the TurkStream pipeline. Budapest could ask Russia’s Gazprom to boost deliveries via the route, Szijjarto said.

Hungary continues to receive more than a half of the gas it consumes from Russia under a 15-year contract signed with Gazprom in 2021.

Budapest has repeatedly slammed Brussels over plans to abandon Russian gas by 2028 as part of the bloc’s green transition. Hungary has also warned it could block EU sanctions on Moscow if they jeopardize its energy security. Szijjarto has described the plan as “absolutely irrational” and politically motivated.