Russia won't halt gas supplies to Slovakia this winter

Neither Slovakia nor the EU will experience a halt of Russian gas supplies during the upcoming winter, Slovak Economy Minister Vazil Hudák said after visiting the Russian gas Gazprom headquarters in Moscow. Among the main topics of Minister Hudák and Gazprom chief Alexei Miller was the planned expansion of the North Stream pipeline. "I explained to him Slovakia's position, which in essence states that the expansion of North Stream shouldn't completely cut off the traditional Ukrainian route leading through Slovakia further to the west," said Hudák. According to him, Miller proposed that part of Russian gas flowing through the northern route should go via a reverse flow from Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia further to Austria. The Slovak Economy Minister called this an interesting solution for Slovakia. During his visit to Moscow, Minister Hudák also met with his Russian counterpart Denis Manturov, with Energy Minister Alexander Novak and the director of a company that supplies fuel for Slovak nuclear power plants.