Gazprom has started supplying gas to Slovakia via TurkStream, SPP chief says
Bratislava, 6 February (ČTK correspondent) – Russian gas group Gazprom began supplying gas to Slovakia via the TurkStream pipeline in February and will double the volume of deliveries from April. The head of Slovak gas company SPP, Vojtech Ferencz, told journalists today, but gave no details. State-controlled SPP is Slovakia’s largest gas supplier.
The TurkStream pipeline connects Russia and Turkey, from where the gas is transported onwards to Slovakia. Slovakia previously imported Russian gas via Ukraine, which stopped transit at the beginning of this year in response to the expiry of the relevant contract with Russia. Kyiv has been defending itself against Russia’s military invasion for almost three years.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico spoke about the possibility of importing Russian gas to Slovakia via the TurkStream pipeline during his visit to Turkey in January. He later noted, however, that the route is already heavily used.
Slovakia has a contract with Gazprom for gas supplies through 2034. The contract provides for Russia to deliver the gas to Slovakia. Ferencz said that SPP would not terminate the contract.
According to Ferencz, SPP prepared for the expected halt to gas supplies via Ukraine by filling storage facilities and signing contracts to import gas from other sources. The company has previously said that these alternative supplies are more expensive than Russian gas, mainly because of transit fees.
Fico has used the end of gas transit via Ukraine to repeatedly criticise Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and threaten Kyiv with retaliatory measures. Fico initially mentioned halting electricity supplies to Ukraine and restricting assistance for Ukrainian refugees. Last week, the Slovak prime minister backed away from the possibility of taking these measures and began threatening to use his veto in EU decisions on aid to Ukraine. Zelenskyy, in turn, claimed that Fico preferred Moscow to the United States and other partners that could supply Slovakia with gas.
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
