Turkish President Erdogan Promises Slovak Prime Minister Fico Assistance with Russian Gas Supplies

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Monday, 20 January, the possibility of securing Russian gas supplies through Turkey, Bloomberg reports.

Following the meeting with Fico, Erdogan confirmed that Turkey is ready to negotiate with Slovakia and Russia to find a solution to the transit of Russian gas.

‘Let's take a step,’ Erdogan said.

He added that his Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would contact his Russian counterpart, who would then speak to Vladimir Putin.

‘Let's reach a solution to Slovakia's natural gas needs,’ Erdogan said.

For his part, the Slovak prime minister said that an alternative solution could be found to supply Russian gas to Slovakia through the Turkish Stream pipeline and on to Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.

‘The Russian partners should join in and confirm whether they are ready to increase the volume of this gas so that it gets to Slovak territory,’ Fico said during the press conference, adding that the Slovak economy minister will travel to Turkey to discuss the issue further next week.

On 1 January 2025, Ukraine terminated the contract for the transit of Russian gas to Europe in accordance with the expired agreement between Ukraine and Russia. After that, the Ukrainian side decided not to renew it.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, after a personal visit to Russia and a meeting with dictator Putin, sharply criticised Ukraine for these actions and made numerous threats against Ukraine, including cutting off electricity supplies to Ukraine and stopping aid to Ukrainian refugees.