Hungary asked Russia on Thursday to supply it with additional quantities of gas this year.
This came during a meeting between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Sigarto in the capital, Moscow, with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
Following the meeting, Lavrov announced that Russia would “study” the possibility of responding to the request.
“Today, our colleagues conveyed the interest of the Hungarian government in a new purchase of natural gas this year. This request will be immediately transferred and studied,” Lavrov said, during a joint press conference with Sigarto.
“I really appreciate our relations. Our talks today confirmed their permanent and strategic nature. We will work to develop them in all possible ways,” he added.
Earlier, the party “Fidesz” led by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Foreign Minister Peter Sigarto went to Moscow to discuss the receipt of additional shipments of gas.
“In order to ensure the security of energy supplies in Hungary, the government has decided to purchase an additional 700 million cubic meters of natural gas in addition to the quantities stipulated in the long-term contracts,” the party wrote on Facebook.
This visit comes a day after Brussels presented a plan aimed at reducing European gas demand by 15% to overcome the decline in Russian supplies and free it from dependence on Russia.
Hungary imports 65% of its oil from Russia and 80% of the gas it uses, and is concerned about the risks of shortages, declaring a “state of emergency” last week.
The Hungarian Prime Minister said, last Friday, that the European Union “shot itself”, calling on the leaders of the bloc’s countries to change their policy.
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