Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday that he reached an agreement with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for Turkey to guarantee the continued transit of Russian natural gas to Hungary, according to a report by Reuters.
His remarks came after Orban and a high-level Hungarian delegation traveled to Turkey on Monday at Erdoğan’s invitation for the seventh meeting of the countries’ High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
Türkiye ile Macaristan arasındaki Yüksek Düzeyli Stratejik İş Birliği Konseyinin 7’nci toplantısı vesilesiyle Macaristan Başbakanı, değerli dostum Sayın Viktor Orban ile heyetini İstanbul’da misafir etmekten memnuniyet duydum. 🇹🇷🇭🇺
Bugünkü görüşmelerimizde ikili ilişkilerimizi… pic.twitter.com/rritzHGxO8
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) December 8, 2025
Hungary has maintained its heavy reliance on Russian energy since the start of the war in Ukraine, attracting criticism from several EU and NATO members.
Budapest signed a 15-year agreement in 2021 to buy 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Russia and expanded its purchases in 2023, importing about 7.5 billion cubic meters through the TurkStream pipeline.
Orban said during a news conference carried by the state-run M1 station that he and Erdoğan had agreed Turkey would secure the transit route for Russian supplies reaching Hungary. He added that Hungary has already received 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas through TurkStream this year.
The United States granted Hungary a one-year exemption from sanctions targeting Russian oil and gas last month after Orban lobbied for relief in talks with President Donald Trump in Washington.
Orban also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in late November, saying afterward that the visit was intended to ensure Hungary’s energy needs were covered for the winter and the coming year.