Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow on December 22 for a “working visit” and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fico stated that the visit was a response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement on Russian gas transit. The Slovak opposition called the visit “a disgrace.”
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“The EU’s top officials were informed about my visit and its purpose on Friday. Today’s [December 22] meeting was a response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who, in answer to my personal question on Thursday, stated that he was against any gas transit through our territory via Ukraine,” Fico wrote on Facebook.
According to the Slovak Prime Minister, the Ukrainian president also supports sanctions against Russia’s nuclear program: “Through such actions, he is causing financial damage to Slovakia and endangering electricity production at Slovak nuclear power plants, which is unacceptable.”
“Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia’s readiness to continue gas supplies to the West and Slovakia, which will be practically impossible after January 1, 2025, given the position of the Ukrainian president,” Fico added.
Additionally, according to Robert Fico, during a “long conversation” with Vladimir Putin, they exchanged views on “the military situation in Ukraine, the possibility of an early peaceful end to the war,” and Slovakia’s relations with Russia, which he intends to “normalize.”
Slovakia currently receives Russian gas via Ukraine. Gazprom’s transit contract with Naftogaz of Ukraine expires this year, and the Ukrainian government has stated that it does not intend to renew it.
On December 20, the Slovak Prime Minister said that if Ukraine does not allow Russian gas to transit through its territory, a conflict situation may arise between the two countries.
Robert Fico came to power in 2023, which led to a shift in Slovakia’s foreign policy. He immediately stopped military aid to Ukraine and called on Kyiv to lay down its arms and begin negotiations with Moscow. Fico opposes the imposition of international sanctions against Moscow and believes that Western assistance only prolongs the war.
Fico is the third European leader to meet with Putin in Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Moscow in July of this year, and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Putin a few weeks after the war began.
