Slovakia to remain gas transit route even with Nord Stream 2 -PM Fico

(adds background on transit routes, paras 6-8)

BRATISLAVA, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Slovakia will remain a gas transit route even if Russia's Gazprom and its European partners build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bypassing Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said late on Thursday.

Russia currently ships natural gas via Ukraine and Slovakia into western Europe but seeks largely to bypass the route from 2019, which would deprive both countries of combined billions of dollars in transit fees.

"We can't look at Nord Stream 2 unbiased because Slovakia would lose about 800 million euros ($903.52 million) if the Russian gas flow to western Europe stopped," Fico told reporters after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

"If the project is indeed built, and it looks more realistic than not, we have to prepare. The only thing of interest to me is whether the pipeline dries up or not," Fico said.

Slovakia's gas transit firm Eustream, in which the state owns 51 percent, posted revenue of 776.4 million euros and net profit of 418.3 million euros last year.

If transit through Ukraine stopped, Slovakia could ship gas delivered via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, the Czech Republic to Slovakia and on to Austria and southern Europe, although the Slovak part of the route would be much shorter compared to the current one from Ukraine.

It was not immediately clear if Fico meant he believed some gas will keep flowing through Ukraine, or if the Slovak transit country status would be maintained by the shipments via the Czech Republic.

Eustream said in June it had assurances from Gazprom that the entry point from Ukraine to Slovakia would remain fully functional even if Nord Stream 2 is built.

Gazprom and its European partners, including E.ON , Wintershall, Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , OMV (EUREX: 430021.EX - news) and Engie (LSE: 0LD0.L - news) , agreed on the Nord Stream 2 project last year. It is designed to double the amount of gas Russia pumps to Germany, via the Baltic Sea.

Central and east European countries and the United States have said the pipeline could limit supply routes and reduce the energy security of the EU, which gets a third of its gas from Russia.

The EU has yet to rule on whether the pipeline would run up against its antitrust rules.

Poland's antimonopoly office blocked the consortium's clearance last month, forcing Gazprom's Western partners to seek alternative ways to fund it. (Reporting By Tatiana Jancarikova, editing by David Evans)