Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Slovakia that Gazprom would find an alternative route to supply gas under its contract to Slovakia after the transit contract through Ukraine ends, Reuters quoted Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico as saying on January 10.
Earlier, Prime Minister Fico met President Putin in Moscow on December 22 to discuss gas and the conflict in Ukraine after Kiev decided not to allow Russian gas to flow through Ukrainian territory from January 1, 2025.
Ukraine refuses to extend transit agreement with Russia because Kiev wants to cut off Moscow's oil and gas revenues to finance its military campaign.
Prime Minister Fico threatened to take retaliatory measures against Ukraine over the transit ban. Slovakia wants to continue receiving Russian gas via Ukraine to keep costs low and still earn money as a transit country, sending gas to European countries.
"I spoke to President Putin about the contract between us and Gazprom, which clearly states that they have to deliver gas to us somehow," Prime Minister Fico told a parliamentary committee.
"We can transfer part of it via the southern route (through Türkiye)," Fico said, adding that Putin had assured him that Russia would fulfill its commitment, despite the limited capacity of the TurkStream gas pipeline and routes connecting Turkey to Europe.
"President Putin affirmed that Russia will respect its commitments," Prime Minister Fico added.
Some of the gas could also be transported through Western Europe, Mr. Fico said, referring to Slovakia's pipeline connections to the gas networks of neighboring countries in Central and Western Europe.
On January 10, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded to Slovakia's recent criticism of the suspension of Russian gas deliveries, saying the problem was Russia and the unwillingness of "some politicians" to cut dependence on Moscow.
The end of the Ukrainian gas deal will not cause fuel shortages in Europe, while the EU has repeatedly stated that there is no need to extend the contract and that countries receiving Russian gas can still access alternative supplies.
However, Prime Minister Fico said that Europe suffered billions of euros in losses due to high gas prices due to a shortage of about 13.5 billion cubic meters of gas that was transported through Ukraine last year, of which about 3 billion cubic meters was for Slovakia's consumption.
An agreement was almost reached to continue transit through Ukraine, in which Russian gas changes ownership before entering Ukraine, through a deal involving Azerbaijan or Slovakian gas importer SPP, but President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to extend any gas flows through Ukraine, Fico noted.
