During the visit to Azerbaijan, Slovak government officials discussed, among other things, the purchase of energy resources, which would allow Bratislava to get an alternative to Russian gas, the transit of which through the territory of Ukraine will stop with the termination of the agreement with Gazprom.
This is reported by Euractiv, writes “European Truth”.
Prime Minister Robert Fico was accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Economy Denisa Sakova, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Juraj Blanar, and several businessmen. Bratislava and Baku discussed deepening cooperation in several areas, including energy.
“Now Azerbaijan exports gas to eight countries. I hope Slovakia will become the ninth,” said the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, at a briefing after the meeting.
Minister Sakova noted that Slovakia “will make every effort to import gas from Azerbaijan to Slovakia so that we can diversify supplies and get rid of Russian gas.”
As you know, Slovakia is one of the EU countries that continues to receive Russian gas in transit through the Ukrainian GTS. With the end of 2024, the Russian-Ukrainian transit agreement is coming to an end and Ukraine excludes its extension.
Previously, Fico stated that there was allegedly a possibility of extending the agreement, which would ensure gas transit in the future, but his words were denied in Kyiv.
The EU has indicated that it is preparing for a possible termination of Russian gas supplies after the transit contract between Ukraine and the Russian Federation expires at the end of 2024.
Українська правда
