Turkey’s landmark gas deal with Hungary is giving Budapest a much-needed energy lifeline — but may be opening a new backdoor for Russia to reestablish its grip on Europe’s power systems, analysts warn.
Hungary has been searching for new gas sources as it nears the end of a deal that brings the country around 4.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas each year via Ukrainian pipelines.
And on Monday, it took a step toward doing just that, receiving the first gas deliveries via a new agreement with Turkey, according to Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó.
Under the terms of a contract signed between Turkish state firm BOTAŞ and Hungary’s MVM CEEnergy in August last year, the EU member country will receive as much as 275 million cubic meters of natural gas in the coming weeks alone — more than all Hungarian households use for heating and cooking in the average month.
