Szijjártó has been given a mandate by the government to procure another 700 million cubic meters of gas, in addition to those the country is getting from its long-term contracts with Gazprom and Shell, as gas shortages in Europe loom. 

He said details on the results of the talks could be announced in the second half of the coming week. Gazprom's deliveries to Hungary have been "reliable," while deliveries of gas from the south "appear to be the most dependable," he said, noting that just one-third of contracted gas volume via pipeline from the west is arriving. 

He added that talks on the additional gas deliveries also touch on delivering volumes from the west through the southern pipeline, preferably.