MOSCOW, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Russia and Hungary discussed Surgutneftegas's stake in Hungarian oil and gas group MOL on Tuesday and expect to hold more talks, a spokesman for Russia's prime minister said.
'The MOL issue was discussed. The talks will be continued,' Dmitry Peskov told Reuters after Vladimir Putin met his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, in Moscow.
The issue of MOL has tainted relations since Surgutneftegas , Russia's fourth-biggest oil producer, bought a 21 percent stake in MOL in a 1.4 billion euro ($1.9 billion) deal last year, which both MOL and the then Hungarian government considered an unfriendly approach.
Surgut has said it wished to be a strategic investor, but MOL has said that having the 21 percent stake in Hungarian hands would create what they called a more stable situation.
(Reporting by Dasha Korsunskaya, writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Alfred Kueppers and Erica Billingham) Keywords: RUSSIA MOL/TALKS (ekaterina.golubkova@reuters.com;+7 495 775 1242 Reuters Messaging: ekaterina.golubkova.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'The MOL issue was discussed. The talks will be continued,' Dmitry Peskov told Reuters after Vladimir Putin met his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, in Moscow.
The issue of MOL has tainted relations since Surgutneftegas , Russia's fourth-biggest oil producer, bought a 21 percent stake in MOL in a 1.4 billion euro ($1.9 billion) deal last year, which both MOL and the then Hungarian government considered an unfriendly approach.
Surgut has said it wished to be a strategic investor, but MOL has said that having the 21 percent stake in Hungarian hands would create what they called a more stable situation.
(Reporting by Dasha Korsunskaya, writing by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Alfred Kueppers and Erica Billingham) Keywords: RUSSIA MOL/TALKS (ekaterina.golubkova@reuters.com;+7 495 775 1242 Reuters Messaging: ekaterina.golubkova.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.