Hungary has secured an agreement to receive natural gas from Azerbaijan for the next two years, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, as the central EU member state disputes the bloc’s pledge to phase out Russian gas imports.
“We have secured another gas purchase agreement, this time with Azerbaijan: 800 million cubic metres over two years,” Szijjarto posted on X.
Earlier this week, Rovshan Najaf, the president of Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas firm SOCAR, met with the chief executive of Hungary’s energy company MVM Group, Karoly Matrai, to discuss gas supply and future partnership opportunities.
During the meeting, SOCAR and MVM ONEnergy signed a new agreement on natural gas supply. The agreement, which enters into force on January 1, 2026, will further strengthen the strategic energy partnership between Azerbaijan and Hungary, the Azeri company said on Wednesday.
While Hungary pursues supply from Azerbaijan, it is also disputing the EU’s decision to phase out Russian gas imports.
Earlier this month, Hungary vowed to challenge the EU’s decision to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas at the Court of Justice of the European Union, claiming it is impossible for the central European nation to halt energy imports from Russia.
“Accepting and implementing this Brussels order is impossible for Hungary,” Szijjarto said.
On December 3, the EU agreed to permanently stop Russian gas imports and phase out Russian oil by 2027.
The agreement will involve a legally binding, gradual reduction in both LNG and pipeline gas imports from Russia, eventually resulting in a full ban on these exports, with the deadlines set for the end of 2026 for LNG and September 30, 2027 for pipeline gas.
The decision, however, was met with opposition from the central EU member states Hungary and Slovakia at nearly every turn.
Both Hungary and Slovakia have kept ties with Russia, especially Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has met with Putin several times since Russia invaded Ukraine.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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