MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Hungary intends to buy extra volumes of natural gas from Russia and would like to reach an agreement as quickly as possible, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto on Thursday at the press conference after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"The Hungarian government made the decision to buy extra 700 mln cubic meters of gas, so that the country is fully safeguarded in terms of energy supplies," Szijjarto said. However, if the market situation is considered, it becomes clear that "it will be impossible to do this without sources in Russia," the Minister noted.

Hungary has already completed technical preparation for additional gas purchases, Szijjarto noted. "We can receive from the southern direction [via Serbia] and through Slovakia and Austria 20 mln cubic meters of gas daily," the Foreign Minister said. Negotiations with Russia on this issue would be appreciated "to be completed as soon as possible and gas supplies started," he added.

"The heating season will start as early as on October 15," the Minister said.