Kyiv, Budapest considering raising gas supplies to Ukraine via Hungary to 10 bcm a year, says Azarov's spokesman

Ukraine and Hungary are discussing the possibility of increasing natural gas shipments through Hungary to 10 billion cubic meters a year, the press secretary of Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Vitaliy Lukianenko, has said.

"The available capacity is 2 billion cubic meters of gas a year. But there are proposals, which have been agreed by the technical experts of the parties, to increase this volume fivefold. That is we will be able to pump 10 billion cubic meters," Lukianenko told journalists, commenting on the results of the talks between Azarov and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

In addition, the two premiers discussed new routes to supply natural gas to Ukraine from Europe, he said.