MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Hungary does not plan to reduce purchases of Russian oil supplied through the Druzhba pipeline, despite Ukraine's decision to increase tariffs for transit through its territory, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week.

"We have no such intentions. We always prefer diversification, but we need a solid foundation. And it can only come from Russia, this is a physical fact," he said, responding to relevant question from TASS.

Szijjarto also admitted that increasing tariffs for oil transportation through Ukraine is not good news for Hungary. "Since the pipe runs through the territory of Ukraine, we are dependent on their decisions. We hope that there will be no more decisions on further hikes," the Hungarian Foreign Minister noted.

According to him, Hungary expects to receive about 4 million tons of oil from Russia via the Druzhba oil pipeline by the end of 2023.

During the summer Ukraine increased tariffs for oil transportation via the Druzhba pipeline through its territory twice: by 25% from June 1 and by 23.5% from August 1. Kiev grounded such hikes by increased costs due to damage to the country’s energy infrastructure.

TASS is the information partner of the Russian Energy Week.