Orban said that Hungary is in talks to buy gas from Qatar to reduce dependence on Russia

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the country is negotiating to buy liquefied natural gas from Qatar in order to reduce its dependence on Russia.

Source. Bloomberg writes about it.

According to him, the countries are still solving this issue and it will be possible to talk about the first supply no earlier than 2026.

Orban emphasized that half of Hungary's energy needs are covered by supplies from Russia under long-term contracts.

However, it is for the second half that she needs to find new partners.

It should be noted that Orbán was one of the few who blocked the introduction of energy sanctions against Russia.

When the issue of the ninth package of sanctions was being decided, Hungary opposed the introduction of a hard price ceiling for gas supplied to the European Union from the Russian Federation.

As a result, the countries abandoned this idea, but agreed to single purchases of gas in the event of a sharp depletion of reserves.

In addition, Orbán recently concluded additional agreements with Russia to increase the supply of natural gas.

Still, Hungary found another supplier to have a backup plan, experts said.

"Orban is not a fool and perfectly understands that Gazprom is an unreliable partner. The first gas supply line, which goes through Ukraine, can be interrupted at any moment, and then supplies will not reach Hungary. Gas routes from Russia, which is known for its unreliability, could leave Hungary without gas.

Back in 2012, an expert assessment of the possible consequences of the Russian gas shutdown in the winter period was carried out. Then the experts came to the conclusion that if the supply of Russian gas is cut off in February, Hungary will not have enough of 57% of what it needs at that time. Therefore, it should get additional sources of gas", – noted oil and gas market expert Mykhailo Krutikhin in a conversation with The Insider.

Background. We will remind you that Russia included Hungary in the list of "unfriendly countries".