The government of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has turned to the Southern Gas pipeline - a supply chain based on Russian gas transported from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline to Turkey and Hungary.
However, this backup option is becoming increasingly vulnerable. A joint project between Ankara and Moscow to expand the capacity of the TurkStream pipeline to Europe has quietly disbanded.
Energy experts say Turkey is not interested in pushing more Russian gas to the West amid limited infrastructure, investment shortages and reduced gas demand in the European Union.
Gazprom is running out of money, and Turkey seems unwilling to accept the risk, Radovan Potocar said.
Former Slovakian Economic Minister Karel Hirman added that the failure of the Turkish gas hub has almost put an end to Prime Minister Fico's ambition to restore major gas imports from Russia.
Slovakia's state gas company SPP insists that current supply via the TurkStream pipeline is sufficient. Since April, the company has ensured additional transport capacity through Hungary.
However, Slovakia's gas reserves are still lower than EU standards, at only 41%, while Austria's is 57%. In addition, experts warn that the southern gas pipeline cannot meet year-to-year demand due to bottlenecks in the pipeline system.
Despite these concerns, the SPP has not ruled out the possibility of resuming gas imports through Ukraine. The company has recently established a subsidiary with the aim of managing the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine in the future, although this scenario is now considered highly unlikely in both politics and logistics.
Analyst Radovan Potocar pointed out that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still ongoing and there is no basis to support Gazprom's activities.
The European Union aims to completely end Russian gas imports by 2027. The policy was opposed by Prime Minister Fico and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban. However, at present, Slovakia's energy strategy is still stuck between geopolitical situation and limited options.
