BUDAPEST, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hungary is prepared to provide its full transit capacities to supply Slovakia with gas via the southern TurkStream pipeline, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said here on Thursday.
It is Hungary's sovereign right to decide about its energy sources and routes, rejecting any external pressure, Szijjarto said during a press conference in Budapest.
He criticized the recent suspension of gas transit through Ukraine, calling it "unacceptable" and a threat to regional energy security.
Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe on Jan. 1, following the expiration of a five-year transportation agreement.
Hungary has increased the annual capacity of its interconnector with Slovakia by 900 million cubic meters to strengthen the neighboring country's energy security, he added.
He also noted that Hungary imported 7.6 billion cubic meters of gas through the TurkStream pipeline last year, leaving an additional 900 million cubic meters of free capacity for further transit. ■