Hungary's energy supply is secure, foreign minister says
BUDAPEST, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Hungary's energy supply is not in danger, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, adding that the state's gas supply is not threatened by the ongoing fighting in Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region, as other pipelines transport sufficient amounts of gas.
"Hungary's energy supply is secured," Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook.
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Russia's Gazprom supplies gas to Hungary via the Turkstream pipeline through Turkey and Serbia.
"Hungary's gas-supply goes on according to plan, it is not affected by the situation (in Sudzha)," Szijjarto said.
Ukrainian armed forces crossed the border and captured several Russian towns in early August, including Sudzha, through which Russia pumps gas from Western Siberia across Ukraine to the European Union.
Gas flows through the hub have remained steady although Ukraine has said it has no plans to renew or extend the transit deal when it expires at the end of the year.
Szijjarto also said that negotiations are "in the final stages" of finding a solution to Kyiv's decision to bar Russian oil-exporter Lukoil from using its infrastructure at the end of June.
Both Hungary and Slovakia, landlocked countries whose refineries are supplied with Russian oil via the "Druzhba" or "Friendship" pipeline, had warned of possible fuel shortages from the move.
"The negotiations are approaching the finish line... so we can say that we secured Hungary's crude-oil supply beyond the temporary measures applied for the short- and medium-run," Szijjarto said without giving any further details.
Hungary has maintained what it calls pragmatic relations with Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, creating tensions with some European Union allies keen to take a tougher line.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves and Boldizsar Gyori, Editing by Alan Charlish, Kirsten Donovan)