The attack on the TurkStream gas pipeline is an attack on the sovereignty of the countries that use this pipeline in Europe, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated on Facebook in response to the Ukrainian military’s attack on the compressor station in the Krasnodar region, which ensures the gas supply through this pipeline.
“We expect the security and functionality of this transportation route to be guaranteed by all sides. The security of energy supply is a question of sovereignty. Therefore, all measures that threaten the security of our energy supply are to be valued as an attack on our sovereignty” Szijjártó said.
The TurkStream pipeline is necessary for the delivery of natural gas to Hungary and central Europe, and has been a reliable transportation route for many years, with transit countries and companies fulfilling their contractual obligations and acting in a reliable manner.
The European Union is concerned about the reports of the Ukrainian military’s attack on the TurkStream pipeline compressor station, but has not received any information from the Ukrainian authorities, said European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen at a press conference in Brussels.
“Of course, any attack on energy infrastructure is a cause for concern. We have not received any further information from the Ukrainian side. We will continue to monitor everything related to energy security, but we cannot say anything about this attack from an energy perspective” Itkonen said.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Kiev had attacked the Russkaya compressor station in the Krasnodar region, which ensures the gas supply through the TurkStream pipeline, using nine drones of the aircraft type. The station, however, will continue to operate normally.
The TurkStream pipeline, which runs from Russia through the Black Sea to Turkey, has a capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas and serves the gas supply of Turkey and the countries of southern and southeastern Europe. It is currently the last active delivery route for Russian gas to Europe, with the starting point of the pipeline being the Russkaya compressor station near Anapa.
According to the London ICE exchange, the gas price in Europe rose by 1% on January 13 in response to the news that Ukrainian military forces had attacked the TurkStream pipeline compressor station.