Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Slovakia that Russia's Gazprom would find alternative ways to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday.

Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday he had secured Slovakia's gas supply during a visit to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from Russia at the start of 2025.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed that Russia has pledged to continue supplying gas to his country despite the expiration of the gas transit agreement through Ukraine. Fico explained that this was due to Kyiv's refusal to extend its contract with Moscow.

It seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine. This was stated by the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky.

In response, the EU diversified its imports, with Norway and the United States becoming the top suppliers by 2023. This shift allowed the EU to plan eliminating Russian gas imports entirely by 2027. However, nations like Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria, which still rely heavily on Russian gas, face significant challenges.

A delegation of Slovakia's far-right MPs, led by Deputy Speaker and leader of the nationalist party SNS Andrej Danko, is set to travel to Russia in January to "develop dialogue" following the visit by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander ...

Fico said Putin guaranteed that Russia would meets its obligations, although capacity in the TurkStream pipeline and connecting route taking Russian gas through Turkey to Europe was limited. "President Putin guaranteed that they will honour their commitments," Fico said.

Slovakia has secured a guarantee from Putin that Russia's Gazprom will find an alternative route to deliver gas after the expiration of the Ukraine transit deal.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that his government might consider halting humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of measures in response to the ongoing Russian gas transit dispute. Speaking to reporters in Brussels after meeting with European Union (EU) Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen,

Slovakia will adopt harsh reciprocal measures against Ukraine if the problem with halted gas transit through the country is not solved, Slovak Prime