5 Jun 2023 09:12

Hungary not planning to become shareholder of Turkish gas hub, but emphasizes its importance for South-Eastern Europe - minister

VIENNA. June 5 (Interfax) - Turkey will inevitably become the key supplier of gas to South-Eastern Europe, and Hungary is interested in relevant supplies, but does not intend to participate as a shareholder, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter told Interfax on Saturday.

"You know, if you look at the south-eastern part of Europe and then look at transit, Turkey is inevitable [as a supplier]. We really need it, it has the source and opportunities for transit," he said.

Szijjarto noted that Turkey is a reliable supplier, including of Russian gas via the TurkStream.

"We rely on Turkey as a partner in transit. But we don't have a goal of purchasing any share in any energy infrastructure in Turkey," Szijjarto said.

In October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced an initiative of laying additional strings of the pipeline from Russia to Turkey on the bottom of the Black Sea and creating a gas hub on the border with the European Union to serve as an alternative to other gas pricing centers in Europe.

Turkey was planning to discuss the creation of such gas hub with potential parties involved in February, but the relevant conference was postponed due to the devastating earthquake in the south-east of the country.