Slovakia will lose €500 mln a year if it loses gas transit from Russia

Slovakia will stop receiving about €500m per year if it is unable to transit Russian gas to other countries due to Ukraine's decision. This was stated by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo on December 27.

"If we are talking about the year 2025, our domestic need for gas plus or minus is met, but we still ensure the transit of Russian gas to the west, which brings us <...> revenues of €400-500 million a year. If President (Vladimir - Ed.) Zelensky (term of office expired on May 20) stops the transit of this gas after January 1, we lose this money," Fitzo said in a video message published in the social network Facebook (owned by the organization Meta, recognized as extremist in Russia).

He also noted that when he raised the issue at the summit in Brussels, Zelensky approached him with a corrupt proposal to pay this amount to Slovakia if it supports Ukraine's accession to NATO. At the same time, €500m would be paid not from the Ukrainian treasury, but from frozen Russian assets.

The prime minister also added that if Kiev stops the transit of Russian gas, the country's budget will lose €800m per year, while Russia will lose only €2.5bn.

Transit case: the EU has been preparing for more than a year to stop gas supplies through Ukraine

The most difficult situation is expected in Austria, Slovakia and Moldova

Earlier, on December 27, the Slovak Prime Minister promised to take retaliatory measures against Kiev because of the termination of gas supplies from Russia. He noted that he did not rule out the possibility of cutting off energy supplies to Kiev.

On December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Fitzo held talks in the Kremlin. The Slovak prime minister called his visit to Russia a reaction to President Zelenskyy's statement about the cessation of gas transit through Ukrainian territory. During the meeting, the Russian leader said that Russia was ready to supply gas to Slovakia directly after January 1, 2025. The topic of conflict resolution in Ukraine was also touched upon.

Earlier, on November 2, Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, said that exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) may continue to grow at the end of 2024. According to him, the main reason for the increase in exports is that prices in Europe have become more favorable for gas suppliers, and in order to somehow bring down prices, it is necessary to increase supply, so European companies were ready to buy Russian LNG to a greater extent.

On December 31, the transit contract for gas pumping from Russia through Ukraine expires. The Russian leadership has repeatedly pointed out that the country has not refused transit supplies to Europe, but in order to prolong them, European countries have to negotiate with Kiev.