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Hungary, Turkey find Kiev's attack on TurkStream outrageous — Szijjarto

"TurkStream must be protected by all available means," Hungarian Foreign Minister said

BUDAPEST, January 25. /TASS/. Hungary and Turkey regard Ukraine's attack on the TurkStream pipeline as outrageous and are calling on the EU leadership to take action to protect this route of natural gas supplies to Europe, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

He made the statement following phone talks with Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, and was referring to the recent Ukrainian strikes in Russia’s southern Krasnodar Region that targeted a compressor station pumping fuel into the pipeline.

According to the Hungarian minister, his vis-a-vis "agreed that the attacks on Turkish Stream are outrageous and unacceptable."

"TurkStream must be protected by all available means," Szijjarto said.

"It is also unacceptable that the European Union and other international organizations ignore attacks that threaten the energy security of our country and other Central European nations. The European Union must stand up for the energy security of Hungary and Central Europe and guarantee that no external player can disrupt the energy security of our country and other nations in the region," the minister wrote on his Facebook (banned in Russia as it's owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated an extremist organization in Russia).

Szijjarto mentioned that TurkStream plays a crucial role in Hungary's natural gas supply.

"The fuel supply through it is uninterrupted, but physical, political and financial attacks on the pipeline continue. Let us be clear: A disruption of the TurkStream pipeline will hinder the safe supply of natural gas to Central Europe," he said.

On January 13, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that in order to disrupt gas supplies to Europe, Kiev sent nine drones to attack the infrastructure of the Russkaya compressor station in the Krasnodar Region, which pumps gas through the TurkStream pipeline. The station continues to operate as usual.

Hungary continues to receive most of its gas in accordance with long-term contracts with Gazprom via the TurkStream pipeline and its branches running through Bulgaria and Serbia. In 2022, 4.8 billion cubic meters of gas entered the country via this route. According to Hungarian data, in 2023 this amount increased to 5.6 billion cubic meters, and in 2024 it reached a record high of 7.6 billion cubic meters.