Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry slammed Hungary for striking a long-term contract with Russia on natural gas supplies bypassing the Ukrainian transit system.
In a statement published on Sept. 27, Ukraine called the move a “solely political, economically unjustified decision made to please the Kremlin to the damage of Ukraine’s interests and Ukraine-Hungary relations.”
“We regrettably note that this decision causes harm to the positive results and trends … for the sake of which lots of efforts and energy have been personally applied by Ukraine’s and Hungary’s foreign ministers Dmytro Kuleba and Peter Szijjarto,” the ministry said.
After several months of talks, the Hungarian government on Sept. 27 signed a 15-year contract with Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom. According to the agreement entering force on Oct. 1, the central European nation is expected to annually consume 4.5 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas until 2036 via transit routes in Austria and Serbia.
The agreement, in fact, derails the decades-long status quo, under which Hungary consumed natural gas supplied via Ukraine. The setback is yet another blow to Ukraine’s pipeline transit system bringing Kyiv nearly $2 billion a year. As recently as Sept. 10, Gazprom announced the completion of its gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 connecting Russia and Germany and threatening to strip Ukraine of its transit status.
“It is more advantageous for Hungary to receive gas via Ukraine’s multidivisional transmission system that ensures flawless, fast-track gas supplies to European countries,” the Ukrainian ministry said.
Following the announcement of the agreement, Ukraine decided to delay an intergovernmental summit on economic cooperation with Hungary, which was expected on Sept. 29-30 in Budapest.
“The Ukrainian party will also address the European Commission regarding the evaluation of the new Hungary-Russia deal’s conformity with Europe’s energy legislation,” the ministry said.
