BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary will start talks on buying nuclear fuel from the United States to diversify its supply, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday in an interview with state news channel M1.
Szijjarto, who has been in Washington since Tuesday, said that Hungary needs more nuclear fuel to fulfil its growing energy needs as it expands its nuclear plant, and that it would keep buying nuclear fuel from Russia as well.
"Alongside the existing Russian supplier relations we are starting consultations on buying nuclear fuel from the United States as well, in order to be able to serve our increased nuclear capacity safely," Szijjarto told state broadcaster M1.
The foreign minister was meeting with representatives from the Department of Energy and U.S. nuclear equipment supplier Westinghouse to discuss the topic later on Wednesday, the reporter speaking with Szijjarto said.
Szijjarto did not offer any details about when Hungary could buy U.S. nuclear fuel or how much of its needs the U.S. imports could cover.
Hungary's Paks nuclear plant currently has four small, Russian-built VVER 440 reactors with a combined capacity of about 2,000 megawatts, and it is currently supplied by Russian fuel.
Hungary plans to extend the lifespan of the current reactors by 20 years and it is also expanding the plant, with Russia's Rosatom building two more VVER reactors with capacity of 1.2 gigawatts each.
The "Paks II." expansion project, which has been significantly delayed, was awarded in 2014 without a tender to Rosatom, which has often been cited as a sign of the warm ties between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hungary's government announced last year that Hungary will also buy nuclear fuel from French company Framatome from 2027.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
