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Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Moscow on Sunday and met Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said, one of the few meetings the Russian president has had with an EU leader since he ordered the attack. full of Ukraine about three years ago.
The visit, which was not announced in advance but was confirmed on Sunday by the Kremlin when it shared a video of Fico in Moscow shaking Putin’s hand, follows an upsurge in relations between Russian and western politicians in anticipation of the inauguration of Donald Trump in January as the president of the United States.
The issue of energy security was also an important focus of the meeting, with Ukraine pledging to stop the transfer of Russian gas to its territory from the beginning of 2025.
Kyiv’s threat poses a major challenge to Slovakia, one of three EU countries, along with Hungary and Austria, that remain heavily dependent on Russian gas piped through Ukraine.
Trump said he could find a solution to the conflict and proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine within “a day”, raising the prospect that he could press Kyiv to accept a peace deal that is more favorable to Moscow.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to 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 might bring and hold. discussions on ways to maintain support for Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has arrived at the Kremlin. Earlier, the head of the government of Slovakia planned to discuss with the president of Russia on the issue of gas transit through Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/GMKECGSINf
– OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) December 22, 2024
Fico’s visit was planned a few days ago, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state TV reporter on Sunday. He added that Putin and Fico were meeting “one by one” and it is possible to discuss the latest issues and the transfer of Russian gas through Ukraine.
Fico, man escaped an assassination attempt earlier this year, it adopted a friendlier position towards Moscow than other heads of EU countries.
The prime minister of Slovakia opposed the acceptance of western sanctions against Russia for attacking Ukraine. His position is similar to that of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in neighboring Hungary, who also visited Moscow in July this year, prompting an outcry from his allies across Europe.
Sunday’s visit marks the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Fico in eight years, the Tass state news agency reported.
