BUDAPEST, September 1. /TASS/. Continuing Ukrainian strikes against pipelines makes cooperation between Budapest and Belgrade critical in the sphere of secure energy supplies for Central Europe, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister of Hungary Peter Szijjarto said.

"The Hungarian segment of the oil pipeline from Serbia will be built by the end of 2027, which will become an important step on the path to energy security of our region. Repeated attacks of Ukraine against oil and gas pipeline stress why the Hungarian-Serbian energy cooperation is now as important as never before. Stronger ties means more reliable supplies to Central Europe," Szijjarto said, cited by Secretary of State for International Communications Zoltan Kovacs.

In February, the Hungarian government said it would invest 320 mln euro during three years in construction of the pipeline, through which Serbia will be able to receive feedstock coming from Russia over the Druzhba oil pipeline.