BUDAPEST, January 19. /TASS/. Hungary received 5.6 bln cubic meters of gas from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and its branches through Bulgaria and Serbia in 2023, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto who is participating in a meeting of energy ministers of South-Eastern and Central European countries in Athens, said.

Bulgaria tried to charge an increased tax for transit of Russian gas through its territory late last year, he noted. "Eventually Bulgaria rejected the idea of an additional tax on Russian gas, which is why it is still transported to Hungary via Bulgaria seamlessly. Last year 5.6 bln cubic meters of gas were supplied [via this route], while this year almost 18 mln cubic meters are delivered each day. We need good cooperation as Azerbaijani gas will also be partially imported through Bulgaria in the near future," the minister wrote on his page on Facebook (prohibited in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).

Regarding the meeting in Athens, he noted that the steps to strengthen energy cooperation in South-Eastern and Central Europe would be discussed there. "Our recipe is clear: to put an end to ideologic attacks on nuclear energy, to construct more gas pipelines and electric lines in the region and not to discriminate any source of energy because of political or ideological reasons," Szijjarto said.

Hungary still receives the bulk of its gas from Russia. In September 2021, the Hungarian company MVM entered into two long-term contracts with Gazprom, which provided for the supply of a total of 4.5 bln cubic meters of gas per year through pipelines laid through Serbia and Austria, bypassing Ukraine. Since the use of the Nord Stream gas pipeline was suspended, an agreement was reached in October 2022 to increase the supply of Russian gas along the southern route - the TurkStream pipeline and its branch through Bulgaria and Serbia. In 2022, Hungary received 4.8 bln cubic meters of gas via this route.