BUDAPEST, December 11. /TASS/. Hungary and Russia have found a payment workaround for gas and fuel for the Paks NPP after the US imposed sanctions against Gazprombank, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said when commenting on a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Szijjarto recalled that until recently, payments for the supply of Russian gas and nuclear fuel for the Paks NPP were processed through Gazprombank.

"A solution has already been found, everything is fine, the work is ongoing," Szijjarto said in a video statement broadcast by the M1 TV channel.

The minister said that right after Orban's conversation with Putin, he spoke on the phone with Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. According to Szijjarto, they discussed cooperation in the energy sector, including the procedure for payments for Russian gas and fuel for the nuclear power plants

"We are currently looking at different payment arrangements related to Paks-2 construction and for natural gas," the Foreign Minister said.

He stressed that "there are no factors on either the Hungarian or Russian side that would prevent us from finding a way out of the current situation."

Earlier, Szijjarto said that Hungary and Russia had found solutions to three of the four problems that arose in connection with the sanctions against Gazprombank. Among them, he listed payments for Russian gas, its transit through neighboring countries, and payments for nuclear fuel for the Paks NPP.

The minister admitted that by including Gazprombank in the US sanctions list, the Biden administration had created serious difficulties for several countries in Central and Southeastern Europe, including Hungary. According to him, Slovakia, Serbia and Turkey also faced problems as a result of this decision, and consultations with them are ongoing.

Szijjarto also said that Putin made it clear that Russia is committed to ensuring energy supplies to Hungary.

"We are both committed to continue energy cooperation," Szijjarto stressed.