KIEV, September 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Hungary’s suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine was “unexpected,” Ukraine’s Naftogaz said on Friday.

“At 17:77 local time /18:55 Moscow time/, the Ukrainian operator of the gas transportation system received an electronic message from the Hungarian gas operator FGSZ notifying about the suspension of gas supplies from 19:00 local time /20:00 Moscow time/ due to technical reasons until further notice,” Naftogaz said in a release.

The company said gas supplies from Ukraine to Hungary proceeded in a regular regime. Naftogaz said it hoped the unexpected halt in gas supplies would not affect the stability of the system and reaffirmed its reliability as a partner.

Naftogaz has a contract with private companies in Western Europe on gas supplies via Hungary. After FGSZ had stopped offering transit facilities to these companies, gas supplies from Hungary to Ukraine halted, the company said.

According to earlier reports, Hungary’s gas operator FGSZ Ltd. has suspended gas supplies to Ukraine for an indefinite period of time. The decision was made to meet the growing domestic demand for gas, the company said.

In March 2013, Ukraine and Hungary agreed on gas supplies to Ukraine in the amount of up to 6.1 billion cubic metres a year (16.6 million cubic metres a day).