Russian gas supplies continue to Hungary, not affected by suspension to Bulgaria - Hungarian foreign minister

BERLIN. April 27 (Interfax) - Russian gas supplies to Hungary are continuing in accordance with the schedule and the contract with Russia, the Hungary Today publication reports, citing Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

"I would like to reassure everyone that the suspension of supplies to Bulgaria does not apply to transit through this country," the Hungarian minister said.

"We have found a solution, with Hungary remitting payment in euros to an account with Gazprombank , which then converts them into rubles and transfers them to Gazprom Export," Szijjarto said.

According to Szijjarto, Slovakia has chosen the same payment method.

As previously reported, Gazprom on Wednesday morning fully suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz in Bulgaria and PGNiG in Poland owing to non-payment in rubles. As at the end of the day on April 26, Gazprom Export had not received payments in rubles for gas supplies in April from these companies, as in accordance with the Russian presidential decree, No. 172, of March 31, 2022.

Purchasers of Russian gas as of April 1 must remit payment in rubles as per the latest details that the counterparties received in a timely manner.

According to the decree of the Russian president, the government has introduced a new procedure for paying for Russian gas supplies that stipulates the obligatory conversion of the contract currency into rubles through Gazprombank.