BUDAPEST, December 9. /TASS/. Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Economic Relations Minister Peter Szijjarto highlighted the importance of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree on the possibility of paying for Russian gas supplies in rubles not only at Gazprombank but also at other banks.
"More good news: Russia still lets us pay for gas in a way that is not burdened by sanctions," the foreign minister wrote on his Facebook page (banned in Russia, owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia).
Szijjarto is in Moscow, where he took part in a meeting of the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.
On December 8, Putin issued a decree which again extends the permit for foreign buyers to purchase Russian gas in rubles, not only from Gazprombank. The previous special restriction, until December 31, has been replaced by a new one valid until April 1, 2026. This is not the first time the permit has been extended. The previous decree extended the permit’s expiration date from early October until the end of the year.
Russia has established a special payment procedure for foreigners for its gas due to US sanctions against Gazprombank. Previously, foreign companies were required to transfer payments to the Russian supplier's account only at Gazprombank, but could convert foreign currency into rubles at any bank.
Hungary receives the majority of its gas from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline and its branches through Bulgaria and Serbia. In 2025, it expects to receive approximately 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas via this route, some of which transits through Hungarian territory to Slovakia.