September 02, 2025 [Reuters]- The Hungarian section of a planned oil pipeline from Hungary to Serbia will be completed by the end of 2027, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.

In a statement released following a meeting with Serbia’s energy minister, Szijjarto also said Hungary had imported some 5 billion cubic metres of gas via the Turkstream pipeline through Serbia by the end of August, meaning this year’s gas imports via Turkstream could hit a record high.

Szijjarto said the construction of the new crude pipeline by Hungarian oil group MOL would be accelerated, enabling Serbia to be supplied with Russian Urals crude oil.

“In Hungary, MOL will soon close the first phase of the preparatory work, and permissioning and environmental preparations are underway,” he said, adding that the Hungarian section of the pipeline would run for 190 km (118 miles).

Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia were suspended late in August for several days after a Ukrainian strike on a facility in Russia.

Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, hitting Ukrainian domestic heating supplies, Russia’s Druzhba pipeline and other facilities, over the past few weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a deal to end the conflict.

The European Union reduced energy supplies from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is seeking to phase out Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027. But EU members Slovakia and Hungary have maintained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and oppose the phase-out.