Premier: Gas to Be Delivered by Russia to Slovakia Will Be Supplied

(TA3, 'V politike', January 12) Speaking on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said that Russia will deliver to Slovakia all natural gas, which it committed to supply in the coming months based on a contract. Fico added that following the stoppage of gas transit via Ukraine, alternative routes, such as the gas pipeline via Hungary, could be used for it. According to the prime minister, Slovakia has ensured gas supplies in the coming months, but the problem is the halt of transit via Slovakia to further Western European countries and the resulting loss of transit fees and at the same time the pressure on the rising prices of this commodity. "In 2024, we adopted all measures because we had to take into account the possibility of stopping the flow of gas from the East, we have full storage tanks, we have diversification contracts, as far as domestic consumption is concerned, we have no problem so far. In the same way, the Russian side confirms that it will deliver what it is supposed to deliver to us - 3-3.5 billion cubic metres. There is a southern flow, there are other options," said Fico. The premier reiterated that Slovakia will lose €500 million for gas transit. However, by stopping the flow through Ukraine, Europe will lose the supply of about 13.5 billion cubic metres, which, according to the prime minister, puts pressure on prices, which are currently five times higher than in the USA. This has implications for EU competitiveness. "This is the main reason why I was in Brussels, where I warned the Commission, they know it very well. If we don't continue to work on importing a certain volume of gas also from the East via Ukraine, we'll see a shortage of gas in Europe and we'll see a huge increase in gas prices in Europe, which will definitely destroy us compared to the United States or China," stressed Fico. am