(Adds more detail, background)
BUDAPEST, March 29 (Reuters) - Hungary's foreign
minister held telephone talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister
Alexander Novak about gas and oil shipments as well as nuclear
co-operation, the Hungarian minister said late on Tuesday.
In a statement, Peter Szijjarto said Novak had reassured him
that despite international sanctions, the Russian party would be
able to do maintenance work on the Turkstream pipeline.
"Thus Hungary's gas supply will continue without any
disruptions," the statement added.
Under a 15-year deal signed in 2021, before the start of the
war in neighbouring Ukraine, Hungary receives 4.5 billion cubic
metres (bcm) of gas per year from Russia mostly via Bulgaria and
Serbia on the Turkstream pipeline.
The Turkstream gas pipeline will be stopped for maintenance
from June 5 to 12, according to data on the website of Bulgarian
gas transmission operator Bulgartransgaz.
Szijjarto reiterated in his statement that Hungary would
block any European Union sanctions that would affect nuclear
energy.
Hungary, which buys most of its energy from Russia, plans to
expand its nuclear power plant in Paks, with Russia's Rosatom
building two VVER reactors with capacity of 1.2 gigawatts each,
in addition to the currently working four reactors.
Szijjarto also said he informed Novak that Hungary was in
talks to increase the role of French company Framatome in the
expansion of the Paks plant, as the German government was
blocking the delivery of the control equipment for the new
reactors at Paks.
German Siemens Energy has a contract for delivering the
control equipment together with Framatome.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and
Raissa Kasolowsky)
