Szijjarto: Hungary's gas supplies secured for next year

Hungary's gas supplies are secured for next year even if Moscow and Kiev fail to sign a new gas transit deal by the end of the year, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after talks with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller in Moscow on Thursday. "Today we signed an agreement with the CEO of Gazprom ensuring that the company will supply Hungary with gas next year regardless of whether or not Russia and Ukraine sign a new transit deal," Szijjarto told MTI. "The issue of energy supply has taken on a geopolitical dimension with the expiration of the transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine at the end of the year and the absence of a new deal," the minister said. "So the situation may arise that Russia will stop delivering gas to Europe via Ukraine. This is what we have to prepare for, because we always have to prepare for the worst-case scenario when we're planning the country's energy supplies."