Peace talks will help: The Prime Minister of Slovakia hopes for the resumption of gas transit through Ukraine

Peace talks could restore gas transit through Ukraine to Europe.

This statement was made by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during a parliamentary committee meeting on European affairs, just before his departure to Brussels for the European Union summit.

Fico noted that Slovakia is actively negotiating with Azerbaijan to arrange swap gas supplies, but the process is facing various technical challenges.

“We are negotiating primarily with Azerbaijan because we are trying to organize swap gas supplies. This is encountering all possible technical problems, so I believe that peace talks will open the way for the resumption of standard gas transit through Ukraine,” the prime minister said.

He expressed hope that peace negotiations will create conditions for restoring the regular transit of gas through Ukraine.

Earlier, Robert Fico criticized European officials’ plans and statements regarding Ukraine and the conflict between the West and Russia. He stated that Slovakia would not participate in Europe’s military ventures and refused to allocate funds for this purpose, despite pressure from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other supporters of militarization.

It was recently reported that the fill level of underground gas storage facilities in Europe has dropped to 34.5%, the lowest level in the past three years. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), gas reserves currently amount to approximately 38 billion cubic meters.

Since the start of the current heating season, the total amount of gas withdrawn—excluding the volume injected—has reached 67.5 billion cubic meters.