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Putin has assured to keep providing Slovakia with gas, Fico states

Russian President Vladimir Putin guaranteed Slovakia that Russia's Gazprom would discover alternative methods to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated on Friday.

Fico satisfied Putin in Moscow on Dec. 22 to discuss gas and the war in Ukraine after Ukraine decided not to permit Russian gas flows through Ukraine from Jan. 1.

Fico has threatened to take vindictive procedures versus Kyiv as Slovakia wished to continue getting Russian gas through Ukraine to keep costs down and keep earning transit nation revenue from onward gas deliveries to Europe.

I spoke with Putin about a contract in between us and Gazprom, which says that they have to in some way deliver the gas to us, Fico informed a parliamentary committee.

We are able to press something through the southern flow ( path through Turkey), but up until now we have storage, Slovak usage is protected.

Fico said Putin guaranteed that Russia would fulfills its commitments, although capacity in the TurkStream pipeline and linking path taking Russian gas through Turkey to Europe was restricted.

President Putin guaranteed that they will honour their commitments, Fico said.

Part could be delivered through western Europe, Fico said, describing Slovakia's pipeline connections to gas networks of central and west European neighbours.

Fico has argued Europe suffered multi-billion euro losses from an increase in gas prices brought on by the absence of around 13.5 billion cubic metres of gas that flowed through Ukraine last year, consisting of around 3 bcm for Slovak intake.

Fico said an arrangement had actually been close to continue shipments through Ukraine with Russian gas changing hands before going into Ukraine under an arrangement including Azerbaijan or the Slovak gas importer SPP, however Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declined extending any gas streams through Ukraine at the EU's December summit.

(source: Reuters)