Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico discussed the potential of securing Russian gas through Türkiye with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bloomberg reported.
The Slovak leader is looking for an alternative after Russian gas supplies via Ukraine were stopped earlier this year.
Slovakia's state gas company Slovensky Plynarensky Priemysel AS is one of the few remaining companies in Central Europe with long-term contracts with Russia's Gazprom.
According to Bloomberg, in response to the proposal of the Slovakian leader, Türkiye expressed its willingness to negotiate with Slovakia and Russia to find a solution.
"Let's take a step forward and achieve results on Slovakia's gas needs," Erdogan said at a joint press conference in Ankara on January 20.
President Erdogan said that the Turkish Foreign Minister will contact Russia while he personally will talk to President Vladimir Putin.
Prime Minister Fico believes that an alternative solution could be found to bring Russian gas to Slovakia via the TurkStream pipeline, which would then go to Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Fico did not provide details on the potential solution or the volume of gas that might be needed.
"Russian partners need to come forward and confirm whether they are ready to increase this gas flow to Slovakian territory," Fico said at a press conference.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico added that the Slovakian Economy Minister will travel to Türkiye to further discuss the issue next week.
