Türkiye and Hungary on Monday renewed their energy partnership, with Ankara pledging to guarantee the transit of Russian natural gas to Hungary.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, speaking after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, said Türkiye’s role in securing gas and oil deliveries was “very important and necessary,” given Hungary’s limited alternative energy sources.
Hungary signed a 15-year deal in 2021 to purchase 4.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually and increased imports last year to about 7.5 billion cubic meters through the TurkStream pipeline.
“Russian gas only arrives via Türkiye. This year, 7.5 billion cubic meters have already been delivered. Next year, we want to meet the needs of the Hungarian economy in the same way,” Orban said in a video message posted on social media. He added that transit arrangements would be discussed again during next year’s talks with Erdogan.
The two leaders also reviewed broader cooperation, noting they were close to reaching their $6 billion trade target and considering raising it to $10 billion. They discussed expanding defense industry collaboration, with Erdogan saying joint production projects were under evaluation.