07/02/2025 (Agence Europe) – Slovak energy supplier Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (SPP) said, on Thursday 6 February, that Slovakia was once again being supplied with Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline. Deliveries began on the 1st of February and are expected to double in volume by April. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, travelled to Moscow in December 2024, just before the end of the agreement for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine (see EUROPE 13571/13), to negotiate supplies with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, which provoked the discontent of the other member countries of the European Union, with the exception of Viktor Orbán’s Hungary (see EUROPE 13565/5). The Turkstream gas pipeline links Russian gas reserves to the Turkish transmission network under the Black Sea. Together with its Balkanstream extension, this is the last supply route for Russian gas via Europe, in addition to imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) by liquefied natural gas tankers. (PLD)