Peter Pellegrini: Slovakia considers Azerbaijan as a key gas partner

Slovakia considers Azerbaijan a key partner in gas supply matters.

This was stated by Slovak President Peter Pellegrini in an interview with the AnewZ television channel.

The head of state emphasized that after the outbreak of the Eastern European conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis, Baku immediately offered Bratislava part of its capacity through various routes.

"It was Azerbaijan that immediately offered us part of its capacity - both through the TurkStream gas pipeline and through other routes via Bulgaria and Italy to Austria. We received Azerbaijani gas, but now we are focused on finding a long-term solution, as Azerbaijan has made a proposal for gas supplies to Central Europe," P. Pellegrini said.

The Slovak leader noted that his country views Azerbaijan as a key partner in diversifying its energy supplies: "After 2027, the European Union intends to phase out purchases of Russian gas. Therefore, we need diversification (of supplies), and we consider Azerbaijan one of the central players in this matter."

The president also pointed out that equal partnership relations have developed between Baku and Bratislava.

"We do not seek to look at Azerbaijan as a sales market, as many others do, thinking: 'Azerbaijan is a wealthy country, let's try to sell them something.' In Slovakia, we prefer to build relationships as partners," he stated.

P. Pellegrini reported that cooperation covers a wide range of areas, including the defense industry: "Today we discussed with our defense minister a joint initiative for the production of new military equipment that will be manufactured by enterprises of both countries. Subsequently, this production will be able to enter new markets through Azerbaijan, bringing benefits to both sides."

It should be recalled that earlier there were reports of Slovakia's intention to purchase approximately 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan annually after 2027.