Hungary interested in getting more natural gas from Russia - foreign minister

MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - Hungary is interested in having the amount of gas it receives from Russia increased and its energy security ensured within the coming months, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

"Above all, I would like to talk about how to make energy supply to Hungary safer in the coming months," Szijjarto said at the start of a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Thursday.

"This is one of the most important aspects of our bilateral cooperation," Szijjarto said.

"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," he said.

"My government has authorized me to hold negotiations on this account, and this is chiefly why I am here, in Moscow, today," he said.

Following the negotiations he said that Hungary expects to buy an extra 700 million cubic meters of natural gas from Russia.

"The Hungarian government has decided that we want to buy an extra 700 million cubic meters of gas to make sure that our country is in absolute safety from the standpoint of gas supply," Szijjarto said.

For his part, Lavrov said that Hungary asked Russia to increase gas supplies and that the request will be considered.

"Today our colleagues expressed the interest of the Hungarian government to buy an additional quantity of gas in the current year. This request will be passed on and considered forthwith," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his Hungarian counterpart.

"Despite the complex international situation, despite the intention of some of our partners to increase the sanction pressure, our interaction is continuing, and we managed to overcome a slump in our trade turnover and see its growth by more than 25%," Lavrov said.

"We acknowledge the mutual determination [...] of the leaderships of our countries to promote our interaction and partnership, including the implementation of major joint projects in the energy, transport, and other sectors," Lavrov said.