According to a Hungarian foreign ministry official, Russian gas giant Gazprom has increased its flows to Hungary via the Turkstream pipeline, Reuters reported.

Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has maintained pragmatic relations with Moscow, causing tensions with some European Union allies.

85% of Hungary’s energy comes from Russian gas and hence the country firmly opposes any EU sanctions on Russian gas imports. Prime Minister Viktor  Orban has also lobbied hard to exempt Russian crude oil from EU sanctions.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov met in Moscow last month to discuss a further 700 million cubic meters of gas on top of an existing long-term supply agreement.

According to a statement from the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Gazprom began ramping up gas flows to Hungary on Friday.

Through August, Gazprom will deliver an additional 2.6 million cubic meters of gas per day via Turkstream, with September deliveries to be negotiated.

By the middle of July, Hungary’s reserves held 2.84 billion cubic meters of gas, the lowest level over the past five years.

Hungary receives 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year under its long-term deal with Russia and another 1 billion cubic meters via a pipeline from Austria. That agreement was signed before the start of the war in neighboring Ukraine.

Upon expiration of the 15-year agreement with Gazprom, the purchased quantities may be modified after 10 years.