On Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said, following Russia’s decision concerning the South Stream gas pipeline, that further opportunities need to be explored for the long-term guarantee of secure energy supplies for Hungary.
The Minister – who was attending the Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels – said that Russia had the right to take this decision on South Stream, and that Hungary had taken note of it. He said that he did not want to speculate on the reasons behind the decision, as he sees the matter as too serious for that.
He said that in order to ensure Hungary's energy security, further opportunities need to be sought – one of the most prominent of which is the supply of gas to Central Europe from Azerbaijan through a southern route. Mr. Szijjártó added that this is only one alternative, however, and – although the intention is to prioritise it – further opportunities must now be explored for the long-term guarantee of secure energy supplies for Hungary.
In Brussels the Minister said that during President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev's visit to Budapest, the latter showed willingness to see gas supplied to Central Europe through the so-called “Southern Energy Corridor”; a key role in this, however, will be played by connection points (so-called “interconnectors”), which do not yet exist, or which only partially exist.
Mr. Szijjártó said that great emphasis must be laid on ensuring that the EUR 300 billion investment plan initiated by the European Commission also provides funding for projects improving the energy security of the region.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade was asked by journalists about the possibility of shipments of liquefied natural gas from Croatia. He replied that Hungary is strongly encouraging Croatia to take the necessary steps for this – partly because this requires the construction of a terminal for such deliveries, and partly because thus gas can not only be delivered from Hungary to Croatia, but in the opposite direction as well.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that under the present circumstances, and due to opposition from the European Union, Russia is unable to start implementation of plans for the South Stream gas pipeline; therefore in the future Russian energy supplies would be directed to different destinations.