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Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin, becoming the third Western leader to meet with the Russian leader since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Fico, an outspoken critic of the European Union’s support for kyiv in the war, said they discussed the supply of Russian gas to Slovakia, on which his country depends.
An agreement with Russian gas giant Gazprom to transport energy through Ukraine to Slovakia is set to expire at the end of this year.
“Senior EU officials were informed about my trip and its purpose… on Friday,” Fico wrote on Facebook.
Fico said the meeting in Moscow was a reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling EU leaders that Ukraine remains opposed to Russian gas being moved through its territory.
The Slovak Prime Minister, who survived being shot earlier this yearHe also stated that he had a “long conversation” with Putin and that both “exchanged points of view on the military situation in Ukraine.”
The two discussed “the possibilities of an early and peaceful end to the war” and mutual relations between Russia and Slovakia, Fico wrote on Facebook.
Slovakia and Hungary, which depend on Russian gas, have expressed concern about the possibility of supply disruptions.
In October 2023, when Fico became prime minister again, ended Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine.
But he has insisted that he wants to be a “good and friendly neighbor” to Ukraine.
Fico’s meeting with Putin came as the leaders of Italy, Sweden, Greece and Finland met Sunday for a security summit.
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo later said Russia was a “permanent and dangerous threat” to the EU.
He also highlighted the need to increase defense spending and support for Ukraine.
