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Türkiye has guaranteed a transit route for Russian gas to Hungary following meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Monday.
Erdogan and Orban met on Monday for the seventh session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Türkiye and Hungary. Following the meeting at Dolmabahce Palace, the two leaders held a joint press conference and signed 16 agreements covering cooperation in education, defense industry, technology, aviation, and economics.
Erdogan confirmed the shared commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields.
"We are approaching our target of $6 billion in trade volume that we set with Mr. Orban. Considering the strong trade potential between us, we discussed updating our volume target to $10 billion. We agreed on the most efficient operation of existing economic and trade mechanisms," Erdogan noted.
Erdogan emphasized cooperation in the defense industry by saying, "Considering the changing security conditions in Europe, we are evaluating joint production projects that will bring our defense industry cooperation to even higher levels."
Orban addressed energy issues in his remarks, thanking Erdogan for the guarantee regarding Russian gas supply to Hungary.
"I agreed with Mr. President (Erdogan) that you, the Turks, will provide the route for all this gas to be delivered to Hungary. I thank Mr. President once again for guaranteeing this route," Orban said.
Orban also emphasized the importance of the guarantee provided by Türkiye, noting, "This guarantee is a serious matter and may be needed, since 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas arrived in Hungary through Türkiye this year alone."
Orban also recalled that Hungary had recently agreed with the United States that American sanctions on Russian oil and gas would not affect Hungary.
"I already agreed with Russia on gas supplies to Hungary, and with the United States on the exemption of these supplies from sanctions. Now I have agreed with Türkiye on the transit route," the Hungarian prime minister explained.
Orban confirmed Hungary's continued dependence on Russian energy sources, noting, "Russia will continue to supply oil and natural gas to Hungary. Because we have no other source of supply."
He thanked the Turkish president for guaranteeing the transit and transportation of this natural gas, saying, "For the transportation and transit of this natural gas, I once again thank Mr. President (Erdogan) for guaranteeing this route."
Orban noted that Hungary invited the Turkish energy company to Budapest, thanking Erdogan for the cooperation between the two countries' largest energy companies.
"We have very good hopes and views regarding political, energy, economic, and defense industry cooperation between Hungary and Türkiye," Orban said.
Orban later recalled that when he first discussed with Erdogan, the annual Turkish-Hungarian trade volume was $2.5 billion. "This has now grown to nearly $6 billion, but the Turkish President has announced a target of $10 billion annually, which Hungary welcomes," he added.
The European Union recently decided to completely stop importing natural gas from Russia by the end of 2027. According to the EU consensus, liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Russia will be completely halted as of Jan. 1, 2027, and natural gas imports through pipelines will be completely stopped as of Sept. 30, 2027.
Natural gas imports through pipelines under long-term agreements will be completely ceased by Nov. 1, 2027, at the latest.
The EU has gradually reduced Russian natural gas imports following the Ukraine war.
Hungary signed a 15-year agreement with Russia in 2021 that provides for annual imports of 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas. Last year, Hungary increased its purchases from Gazprom and imported approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline route.
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