The Kyiv Independent: Orban says Hungary proposing 'trick' to keep Russian gas shipments via Ukraine [View all]

[Dennis Donovan]

The Kyiv Independent - Orban says Hungary proposing ‘trick’ to keep Russian gas shipments via Ukraine

by The Kyiv Independent news desk
December 21, 2024 2:34 PM



Hungary is in talks with Moscow and Kyiv hoping to keep open gas shipments via Ukraine, the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Dec. 21.

Ukraine has said it will not extend the transit agreement for Russian gas through its territory, set to expire on Dec. 31.

The decision has prompted concerns from Hungary and other nations, and Orban has now hinted at a potentially unconventional solution to keeping the route open for Budapest.

"We are now trying the trick ... that what if the gas, by the time it enters the territory of Ukraine, would no longer be Russian but would be already in the ownership of the buyers," he said in comments reported by Reuters.

"So the gas that enters Ukraine would no longer be Russian gas but it would be Hungarian gas."

/snip