Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Slovakia that Gazprom would explore alternative methods to supply contracted gas following the cessation of transit through Ukraine, as stated by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Friday.
Fico met with Putin in Moscow on December 22 to address gas supply issues and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, particularly after Ukraine’s decision to halt Russian gas transit starting January 1.
Fico has indicated potential retaliatory actions against Kyiv, emphasizing Slovakia’s desire to maintain Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine to manage costs and continue benefiting from transit revenues associated with gas shipments to Europe.
“I discussed our contract with Gazprom, which stipulates that they must find a way to deliver gas to us,” Fico informed a parliamentary committee. “We can potentially utilize the southern flow route through Turkey, but for now, we have sufficient storage, and our domestic consumption is secured.”
Fico noted that Putin assured him that Russia would fulfill its commitments, despite the limited capacity of the TurkStream pipeline and its connections for transporting Russian gas through Turkey to Europe.
“President Putin confirmed that they will uphold their obligations,” Fico stated. He also mentioned that some gas could be routed through Western Europe, highlighting Slovakia’s pipeline links to the gas networks of its central and western European neighbors.
Fico argued that Europe has incurred significant financial losses, amounting to billions of euros, due to the increase in gas prices resulting from the absence of approximately 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas that previously flowed through Ukraine, including around 3 billion cubic meters for Slovak consumption.
Fico indicated that an agreement was nearly reached to maintain gas shipments through Ukraine, with Russian gas transferring ownership prior to entering Ukraine, as part of a deal involving either Azerbaijan or the Slovak gas importer SPP. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed the idea of extending any gas flows through Ukraine during the EU summit in December.
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