According to the statements, Fico discussed the Ukraine war and the transport of Russian gas via Ukraine to Slovakia.
According to the Kremlin, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico held one-on-one talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a surprise visit to Moscow.
According to a Facebook post by the Slovak leader criticizing the European Union’s support for Kiev, Fico spoke about “a peaceful end to the war” in Ukraine. He believes there is no military solution to the conflict, which has attracted Western leaders who view Russia as a security threat.
Fico said on Facebook after the meeting that senior EU officials had been briefed on his trip, the third by an EU leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Previous visits by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022 and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last July were criticized by EU allies.
The Slovak head of state said the trip was a response to talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, who, according to the Slovak head of state, opposed any gas transit through Ukraine to Slovakia.
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Zelensky told EU leaders that Kiev had no intention of renewing the deal, as Fico insisted it would harm his country’s interests.
“Russian President V. Putin confirmed the readiness of the (Russian Federation) to continue supplying gas to the West and Slovakia, which is practically impossible after January 1, 2025 given the attitude of the Ukrainian president,” Fico said.
Russian natural gas still flows through Ukraine to some European countries, including Slovakia, under a five-year deal signed before the war that is set to expire at the end of this year.
Last month, Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan to prepare for a possible stop in Russian supplies through Ukraine. At the beginning of the year, a contract was signed to import liquefied natural gas from the USA via a pipeline from Poland.
The country can also obtain gas through Austrian, Hungarian and Czech networks, allowing imports from Germany and other potential suppliers.
The Slovak prime minister added that he and Putin exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine, the chances of a peaceful end to the war and on Slovak-Russian relations, which he said he wanted to “standardize.”
Fico stopped military aid to Ukraine after coming to power in 2023 as he changed Slovakia’s foreign policy. He also criticized the West’s sanctions against Moscow.
Slovak opposition politicians called his visit to Moscow a “disgrace.”
