Budapest has received security guarantees from Sofia for the transit of Russian gas that flows through Turkish Stream and then the Balkans, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Viktor Orban held a meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Sofia on Friday, 20 December.
The Hungarian prime minister noted that “Hungary’s energy supply through the territory of Ukraine is difficult, to put it mildly,” but Budapest continues to receive gas from Russia via the Turkish Stream, as well as from Romania.
“If Ukraine refuses (to transit Russian gas – ed.), we will still have the gas we need with the help of Romania and Bulgaria,” the Hungarian prime minister told a press conference.
He assured that Romania and Bulgaria have provided guarantees to continue transit and sale of gas from Russia to Hungary.
“A year ago there was an attempt from Bulgaria’s side to make it impossible for the gas corridor to work… And we had to negotiate with political friends to persuade them not to destroy us… We succeeded then. And now there is a change of government in Bulgaria and our task is to negotiate with the president and future members of the government so that this does not happen, so that the supply route is safe. I received these guarantees yesterday,” – said Prime Minister.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was going through a difficult period in the Russian history. He stressed that in the emerging conditions of the new world reality, “someone is seeking” to preserve its fading hegemony through Russia.
