Under a new deal between Moscow and Budapest, Russia’s Gazprom will deliver up to 5.8 million cubic metres (mcm) more natural gas per day via Serbia on top of the volumes agreed in the long-term contract, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
According to the Foreign Minister’s announcement on social media, Russia supplied at most 2.6 million additional cubic metres per day in August. This will now be increased to 5.8 million cubic metres per day starting on 1 September, Telex reported.
Szijjarto said that the supply volume would depend on “technical and technological issues” and that the extra gas would help to avoid “the need to introduce restrictions in the country due to gas shortages”.
Szijjarto went to Moscow in July precisely to seek additional gas supplies, raising eyebrows throughout European capitals.
During the press conference following the talks, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also mentioned the war, alleging Ukrainians were shooting themselves so that the Russians could be blamed for their deaths.
Under a long-term, 15-year gas contract with Hungary, Russia is committed to supplying 4.5 billion cubic metres yearly to Budapest.
However, since the outbreak of the war, only 50% of the previously agreed 1 billion cubic meters have been supplied through the pipeline from Austria. It is this shortage that the Hungarian government wants to make up for with this new amount which is to be delivered via Serbia.
*first published in: www.euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
