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Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Moscow on Sunday and met with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said, in one of the few meetings the Russian president has had with an EU leader since ordering a full-scale invasion. from Ukraine almost three years ago.
The visit, not announced in advance but confirmed on Sunday by the Kremlin when it shared a video of Fico in Moscow shaking hands with Putin, comes after increased contacts between Russian and Western politicians in anticipation of the inauguration in January of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
The issue of energy security was also a key backdrop to the meeting, where Ukraine pledged to stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory from early 2025.
The threat from kyiv presents a serious challenge to Slovakia, one of three EU states, along with Hungary and Austria, that remain heavily dependent on Russian gas piped through Ukraine.
Trump has claimed that he can find a solution to the conflict and achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine in “one day,” raising the possibility that he could insist that kyiv accept a peace deal that is significantly more advantageous to Moscow.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Putin by phone last month for the first time in two years, as European leaders prepare for what the start of Trump’s second term could bring and hold discussions about ways to maintain support for Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived at the Kremlin. Previously, the head of the Slovak government planned to discuss with the Russian president the issue of gas transit through Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/GMKECGSINf
—OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) December 22, 2024
Fico’s visit was planned several days ago, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state television journalist on Sunday. He added that Putin and Fico would meet “face to face” and would likely discuss current issues and the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.
Fico, who survived an assassination attempt earlier this year, has taken a friendlier stance toward Moscow than other EU heads of state.
The Slovak Prime Minister opposed the adoption of Western sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine. His stance is similar to that of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of neighboring Hungary, who also visited Moscow in July this year, sparking an outcry from his counterparts across Europe.
Sunday’s visit marks the first in-person meeting between Putin and Fico in eight years, state news agency Tass reported.
