Fico tells Putin Slovakia wants Russian gas, oil supplies

Slovakia is interested in strengthening cooperation with Russia, particularly in the energy sector, Prime Minister Robert Fico said.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“We want to continue cooperating in the energy field. We are interested in supplies of Russian gas and oil. We are also interested in cooperation in other areas,” Fico stated.

Slovakia has historically relied on Russian gas, which accounted for approximately 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually of its 4–5 bcm domestic needs before 2025. Until the end of 2024, most of this gas was transited through Ukraine via Soviet-era pipelines under a contract with Russia’s Gazprom, valid until 2034.

On January 1, 2025, Ukraine halted Russian gas transit after refusing to renew a deal with Gazprom, citing its aim to cut Moscow’s war funding. This disrupted Slovakia’s supply chain, forcing it to source gas via Hungary’s TurkStream pipeline and purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Western suppliers like BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni, and RWE at higher costs.

By Khagan Isayev