Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul and agreed to continue supplying Russian gas to Hungary via Turkish territory.
The agreement was announced by the Hungarian MTI news agency. The meeting took place on December 8, during which energy issues were discussed.
According to Orbán, Budapest has agreed with the United States that sanctions against Russian gas and oil will not be applied to Hungary, and a new commitment with Russia on supply stability has also been reached.
Orbán noted that Turkey would provide the route for all of these supplies.
The prime minister stressed that such a guarantee matters, as in the current year alone 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas have been delivered to Hungary via Turkey. He thanked Erdoğan for the opportunity for energy cooperation and stressed that leading energy companies of the two countries are already working closely together.
Context of EU policy on gas from Russia
In May 2022, the European Commission proposed the REPowerEU plan, aimed at ending imports of Russian gas and oil by 2027.
The REPowerEU measures envisage diversifying supplies and creating a joint gas purchasing mechanism that would negotiate and conclude contracts on behalf of the member states.
The plan faced opposition from Slovakia and Hungary. For instance, in July 2025 Slovakia blocked the adoption of the EU’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia under REPowerEU. Slovakia argues that these measures threaten the country’s economy and energy security.
On December 3, the EU and the European Parliament reached a preliminary political agreement on a regulation that provides for a phased ban on the import of Russian natural gas – both pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The document is a key element of the REPowerEU roadmap, and also provides for a gradual move away from oil from Russia.
On December 8, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that the governments of Hungary and Slovakia want to challenge this political agreement in the European Court of Justice, which envisages the EU’s renunciation of imports of Russian gas and oil.
In this context, the EU’s regional energy policy and the diversification strategy it drives remain a subject of active discussion among member states, particularly concerning future gas delivery routes and joint procurement mechanisms that could reduce dependence on the Russian Federation.