Szijjártó: Hungary-Slovakia gas pipeline boosted after Ukraine transit disruption

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó has said that Hungary and Slovakia have fully ramped up the operation of the pipeline between the two countries for the supply of Russian gas following the halt of fuel transit through Ukraine.

He made the remarks during a press conference after a meeting in the border town of Komárom with the acting Speaker of the Slovak Parliament, Peter Žiga, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"We have managed to resolve the issue of natural gas supplies to Slovakia and Hungary, despite the very serious difficulties created for us by Ukraine. To ensure reliable gas deliveries to Slovakia through Hungary, even with the cessation of transit through Ukraine, we had to increase the capacity of the interconnecting pipeline between our countries," said the foreign minister.

"As of today, the pipeline between Hungary and Slovakia is operating with increased capacity. We have now boosted the capacity of this pipeline by 900 million cubic meters per year. Previously, 2.6 billion cubic meters were transported annually between the two countries. From today, this volume will increase to 3.5 billion cubic meters," Szijjártó noted, recalling that Slovakia receives Russian gas that arrives in Hungary via the TurkStream pipeline and its branches through Bulgaria and Serbia.

​In January 2025, Ukraine halted the transit of Russian natural gas through its territory, leading to significant disruptions in gas supplies to Central European countries, notably Slovakia and Hungary. This action was part of Ukraine's broader strategy to reduce Russian energy influence in Europe. ​

By Khagan Isayev