Hungary agreed with the Russian company "Gazprom" to postpone payments for gas during the heating season in the amount of about €1.9 billion.
This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to a source familiar with the matter.
On Monday, October 3, Hungary announced that it had received from "Gazprom" a three-year postponement of payments that were to be paid within six months. The terms of this agreement were not officially disclosed.
According to Bloomberg sources, Hungary will pay 20% of the amount in the first year, and 40% in the next two years. The amount to be rolled over assumes an interest rate equivalent to Hungaryʼs three-year international sovereign debt as of mid-September. According to the publication, at that time it was about 3.5%.
So over the winter, Hungary is likely to have to pay around €4 billion or more for Russian gas, excluding the estimated €1.9 billion deferred amount.
Budapest said there is no limit to the amount that can be set aside, and it may increase as the market price of natural gas rises.
- Hungary is still receiving Russian gas after the Kremlin cut off supplies to most EU countries in response to sanctions against Russia.
- Earlier, Bloomberg journalists wrote that Turkey, following Hungary, is asking the Russian Federation to postpone payments for gas.