Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico says he has secured guaranteed gas supply from Russia just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from the country at the start of 2025.
“I needed to secure at a minimum gas for Slovakia’s domestic consumption – which we have secured,” Fico said in a video on Facebook on January 8.
The PM said the agreement had been fleshed out during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in December.
Fico did not provide more details and the government office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Slovak leader accused Kyiv of damaging his country by not extending a transit deal for Russian gas that expired at the end of 2024. He had threatened to cut electricity flows to Ukraine and reduce aid for its refugees.
According to Slovak gas transmission network operator Eustream data, Slovakia has continued to receive gas via Hungary, which transports Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline running from the country to Turkey, despite the end of flows from Ukraine.
Fico said the halt of supplies from Ukraine had cost Slovakia €500 million in transit fees and €1 billion in higher gas prices.
The PM is due to meet European Commission officials in Brussels on January 9 to further discuss the end of Ukraine gas transit.
Kyiv has said that its move would deprive Moscow of revenue and would continue as long as Russia kept attacking Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently accused Fico of opening a “second energy front” against Ukraine, allegedly on the orders of Russia.
