Vladimir Putin yesterday hosted Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to the Kremlin by an EU leader since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one yesterday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RIA news agency.
Peskov said the talks were expected to focus on “the international situation” and Russian natural gas deliveries.
Russian natural gas still flows through Ukraine to some European countries, including Slovakia, under a five-year agreement signed before the war that is due to expire at the end of this year.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday that Kyiv had no intention of renewing the deal, something Fico insisted would harm his country’s interests.
Fico said after meeting with Putin – which was condemned by opposition figures in Slovakia – that he informed EU leaders about his trip on Friday.
He said the talks in Moscow were a reaction to Zelenskyy’s statement saying he was against any gas transit to Slovakia through Ukraine.
Fico also said that Zelenskyy was in favour of sanctions against Russia’s nuclear program, which he said was unacceptable and against the interest of his country that relies on nuclear energy.
Fico said Putin told him that Russia was still ready to deliver gas to the West. He said the two also discussed the military situation in Ukraine, chances for a peaceful solution to the war and the bilateral relations between their two countries, which Fico said they will seek to “standardise.”
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