Slovakia is required to stop importing Russian gas as of October 2027, which is why Slovak representatives are trying to negotiate favourable long-term purchase contracts during their current visit to Azerbaijan, Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Hlas-SD) stated on Tuesday following talks in the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Sakova said that Azerbaijan is offering five- to ten-year contracts for natural-gas supplies to several European Union (EU) countries. As the country consumes half of its production and exports the rest, it needs longer-term contracts to finance investments in expanding gas extraction.
According to Sakova, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that his country can't afford to invest only to see the contracts cancelled after a few years, so Azerbaijan needs some assurance that its investments will be protected. "That's why we'll certainly discuss tomorrow how to conclude a longer-term contract between Slovakia and Azerbaijan," said Sakova.
In Baku on Wednesday, Sakova and representatives of state-owned gas utility SPP will hold talks with Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR, one of the largest energy companies in the Caspian region. "The offer covers annual gas supplies of around 1.2 billion cubic metres from Azerbaijan after 2027, when we'll no longer be importing Russian gas," said Sakova.
Sakova held bilateral talks with the Azerbaijani ministers of economy and energy in Shusha on Tuesday. She's set to attend an economic forum in Baku on Wednesday along with Slovak business representatives.
During Tuesday's meeting with the Slovak economy minister, Azerbaijani officials also presented a medium-term corridor project for electricity transit from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan through Turkey to Europe. Sakova said that this project has great potential for Europe, which isn't self-sufficient in electricity generation.
"Even though Slovakia is an electricity exporter, this is especially important mainly for the rest of the European countries that are currently planning to decommission their coal-fired power plants and import green electricity," explained Sakova.
Source: TASR
