The foreign minister has said the TurkStream natural gas pipeline will strengthen Hungary’s energy security because it will enable Hungary to buy gas transported on a new route.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the completion of construction of a 403 km stretch of the pipeline in Serbia was announced last week.
According to MTI, Minister Szijjártó welcomed the announcement, saying that Hungary was taking preparatory steps for the project in line with plans. He added that only a Bulgarian guarantee on the quality of gas supplied is still pending.
The minister said western criticism of the project is “completely baseless” considering that three of the four states that the new gas pipeline will cross are NATO members.
Minister Szijjártó said that starting from 2021, Hungary expects to receive an annual 9.8 billion cubic meters of gas through the TurkStream pipeline.