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Slovak 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 held with a European Union leader since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
The visit was not previously announced but was confirmed by the Kremlin on Sunday when it released a video of Fico in Moscow shaking hands with Putin, and comes in the wake of increased contacts between Russian and Western politicians in anticipation of Donald Trump's inauguration as US president in January. On January 20th.
The issue of energy security was also a major backdrop to the meeting, as Ukraine pledged to stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory from the beginning of 2025.
Kiev's threat poses a serious challenge to Slovakia, which is one of three European Union countries, along with Hungary and Austria, that remain heavily dependent on Russian gas that passes through Ukraine.
Trump claimed that he could find a solution to the conflict and reach a ceasefire in Ukraine within “one day,” raising the possibility that he might insist that Kiev adopt a peace deal more beneficial to Moscow.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Putin by phone last month for the first time in two years, as European leaders braced for what the start of Trump's second term could bring and held discussions about ways to maintain support for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state television journalist on Sunday that Fico's visit had been planned several days in advance. He added that Putin and Fico are meeting “in private” and are likely to discuss current affairs and the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.
Fico, who survived an assassination attempt earlier this year, has previously adopted a friendlier stance towards Moscow than other EU heads of state.
The Slovak Prime Minister opposed Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. In this, he is closer to Prime Minister Viktor Orban in neighboring Hungary, who also visited Moscow in July this year, sparking strong protests from his counterparts across Europe.
Sunday's visit marks the first personal meeting between Putin and Fico in eight years, TASS news agency reported.
