Fico Defies EU, Meets Putin to Secure Slovak Gas Supply

The Prime Minister of Slovakia visited Moscow this weekend to discuss gas supplies to his country following the expiry of a transit contract between Gazprom and the Ukraine’s Naftogaz.

“Russian President V. Putin confirmed the readiness of the (Russian Federation) to continue to supply gas to the West and Slovakia, which is practically impossible after Jan. 1, 2025 in view of the stance of the Ukrainian president,” Robert Fico said after the meeting with Vladimir Putin, as quoted by Reuters. The publication noted the visit was likely frowned upon by the European Union leadership, which considers direct communication between EU heads of state and Russia’s president unadvisable in the context of the war in the Ukraine and the EU’s efforts to pressure Russia into dropping it.

Robert Fico’s meeting with Putin follows a meeting with the Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky last week, where the later reiterated there were no plans to extend the transit deal with Gazprom. The deal expires at the end of this month. The Ukrainian prime minister, meanwhile, suggested there may be a way to continue transiting gas to central Europe, but only if it is not Russian gas. Zelensky, however, signaled he was not having any gas transited via Russian infrastructure.

“If anyone is going to prevent the transit of gas to the territory of the Slovak Republic, if anyone is going to cause an increase in gas prices on the territory of Europe, if anyone is going to cause enormous economic damage to the European Union, it is President Zelenskyy,” Slovakia’s Fico said after a meeting of European Union leaders and Zelensky last week.

Slovakia has a long-term gas supply contract with Gazprom. The expiry of the transit deal with Naftogaz would interfere with that contract’s terms, which probably led to the visit to Moscow. Landlocked Slovakia and neighbor Hungary have few gas supply options that can compare on price with Russian pipeline gas.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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