Slovakia’s Gas Supplies to Be Partly Secured via Hungary

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico gave an interview to television channel TA3, in which he touched on the issue of gas transit. The non-renewal of Ukraine’s contract with Gazprom meant that from January 1, Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine stopped, which also meant that gas would not reach Slovakia via the usual route. Robert Fico already had harsh words earlier for the Ukrainian side on this issue.

In the coming period, Russia will still deliver the gas it has committed to supply under the relevant contracts to Slovakia. The problem, however, is caused by the loss of revenue from the Slovak transit levy and the rise in gas prices, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico explained. He emphasized that

after the halt of gas transit through Ukraine, Russia will deliver gas contracted to Slovakia via alternative routes, such as Hungary.

“The Russian side has confirmed that the 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas that they have to deliver will be delivered. There is the southern gas route and there are other possibilities,” said Fico. He added that their storage facilities are currently full and they have diversification contracts as well.

 

The Slovak President recalled that he had warned the European Commission about the problems, pointing out that Europe must continue to import a certain amount of gas from the East. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recently claimed that the European Commission and European governments are successfully working together to diversify supply sources and increase energy independence, and that all European countries have found ways to supply their economies and populations with alternative energy sources from the United States and the Middle East.

Fico said on TV that the Slovak government had two options to circumvent the non-renewal of the agreements between Ukraine and Russia. “Everything was stopped by President Zelenskyy,” Fico claimed. As the Kyiv Independent reported, Fico said in a parliamentary meeting on January 10, that  Zelenskyy disrupted a gas transit agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan that would have benefited Slovakia.

The Slovak Prime Minister also said that if Zelenskyy continued to harm the EU for political reasons, he would veto aid to Ukraine.

He also reiterated that Slovakia could stop humanitarian aid, adjust the way benefits are paid to Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, or stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine.

“Zelensky goes around Europe just begging and blackmailing; this has to stop. Do you think the Germans will send us gas!?”

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is pretty fed up with Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/IzM0ViI0lZ

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) January 11, 2025

Finally, he pointed out that he and his Ukrainian counterpart, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, had also discussed the fact that the Ukrainians were aware that if the pipelines running through Ukraine were not in use, they could be the target of an attack. An anonymous market source told Hungarian news portal Index roughly the same recently, when he pointed out that since the gas pipelines run above ground at compressor stations, and the trail was marked with yellow signs before the war, this pipeline is not difficult to hit.

The market source, who is an active gas trader, also pointed out that

Hungary could play a major role in regional gas trade, thanks to the interconnectors (interconnecting pipelines) that have been built which can transport gas in both directions with the neighboring countries.

As Nord Stream 1, 2, and the other pipelines – with the exception of the TurkStream – have been slowly phased out between Russia and Europe since 2022, Hungary’s role has been significantly enhanced. Today, only the TurkStream can transport gas from Russia, which happens to enter the European Union through the Hungarian-Serbian border.

Featured photo via MTI/Koszticsák Szilárd