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Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has called for the TurkStream gas pipeline to be protected
Budapest considers any attempts to sabotage its energy supply as undermining its national sovereignty, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday, reacting to reports from Russia that Kiev had tried to disable the TurkStream pipeline with kamikaze drones.
According to the Russian military, Kiev used nine unmanned aircraft to target the Russkaya gas compressor station near the village of Gaikodzor in Russia’s Krasnodar Region last Saturday. The facility pumps natural gas under the Black Sea to Türkiye, some of which then goes to consumers in the EU, including Hungary.
The pipeline “is indispensable for the supply of natural gas” and has been operating reliably for years, Szijjarto stated in a post on Facebook on Monday.
“We expect everyone to respect the safety and operability of this transport route,” he added.
Hungary’s relationship with Ukraine has become strained over Budapest’s opposition to Kiev’s demands for increased military assistance. The Hungarian government rejected Western calls for Kiev to be supported for “as long as it takes” to defeat Moscow.
While the military approach has failed, EU member states have also inflicted economic damage on themselves by trying to punish Moscow with sanctions, as they lost access to the Russian market and the country’s raw materials, Hungary has pointed out.
Kiev has refused to transit Russian gas through its territory to Eastern European consumer nations, including Slovakia and Hungary, which have in turn accused the Ukrainian government of causing an energy crisis for its own political goals.
“Ukraine is trying to join the EU as a candidate, it has once again put the European economy in a more difficult position with its latest decision,” Szijjarto said last week, commenting on the situation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said it is willing to take Hungary’s place in the EU, accusing Budapest of “strengthening” Russia with its policies.
