Putin promised to keep supplying Slovakia with gas, Fico says

By Jan Lopatka

(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Slovakia that Russia's Gazprom would find alternative ways to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday.

Fico met Putin in Moscow on Dec. 22 to discuss gas and the war in Ukraine after Kyiv decided not to allow Russian gas flows through Ukrainian territory from Jan. 1.

Ukraine, which has grappled with a full-scale Russian invasion for nearly three years, refused to renew a transit deal with Russia as it seeks to cut revenues going to Moscow to fund the war.

Fico has threatened to take retaliatory measures against Kyiv for the transit halt as Slovakia wanted to continue receiving Russian gas through Ukraine to keep costs down and keep earning transit country revenue from onward gas shipments to Europe.

"I spoke to Putin about a contract between us and Gazprom, which says that they have to somehow deliver the gas to us," Fico told a parliamentary committee.

"We are able to push something through the southern flow (route through Turkey), but so far we have storage, Slovak consumption is secured."

Fico said Putin guaranteed that Russia would meets its obligations, although capacity in the TurkStream pipeline and connecting route taking Russian gas through Turkey to Europe was limited.

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

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

On Friday, Ukraine's foreign ministry responded to Slovakia's recent criticism over the end of Russian gas transit by saying the problem lies with Russia and the unwillingness of "certain politicians" to cut their dependence on Moscow.

The end of the Ukraine gas deal has not triggered fuel shortages in Europe while the European Union has repeatedly said there was no need to extend the contract and that countries receiving Russian gas had access to alternative supplies.

Fico has argued Europe suffered multi-billion euro losses from a rise in gas prices caused by the absence of around 13.5 billion cubic metres of gas that flowed through Ukraine last year, including around 3 bcm for Slovak consumption.

Fico said an agreement had been close to continue shipments through Ukraine with Russian gas changing ownership before entering Ukraine under an agreement involving Azerbaijan or the Slovak gas importer SPP, but Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected extending any gas flows through Ukraine at the EU's December summit.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague; Additional reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)