Putin meets Slovakia’s Fico in rare visit by EU leader

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Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Moscow on Sunday and met with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said, adding that the Russian president has held few meetings with the EU leader since ordering a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

The visit, not announced in advance but confirmed by the Kremlin on Sunday when it released a video of Fico shaking Putin’s hand in Moscow, follows an increase in contacts between Russian and Western politicians in anticipation of the January inauguration of Donald Trump as US president.

Energy security was also a key backdrop to the meeting, with Ukraine pledging to stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory from early 2025.

Kiev’s threat presents a serious challenge to Slovakia, which is one of three EU states, along with Hungary and Austria, that is heavily dependent on Russian gas pipelines through Ukraine.

Trump has claimed he can find a solution to the conflict and create a ceasefire in Ukraine within “one day”, raising the possibility that he could embrace Kiev in a peace deal that is significantly more favorable to Moscow.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone with Putin for the first time in two years last month, as European leaders prepare to discuss ways to maintain support for Ukraine at the start of Trump’s second term.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV journalists on Sunday that Fico’s visit was planned several days in advance. He added that Putin and Fico were meeting “one-on-one” and were likely to discuss current affairs and Russian gas transit through Ukraine.

Fico, K Survive an assassination attempt Earlier this year, the EU adopted a friendlier stance towards Moscow than other heads of state.

The Slovak prime minister opposed Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. His stance is similar to that of neighboring Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who visited Moscow in July this year, sparking outrage from his opponents across Europe.

Sunday’s visit marked the first in-person meeting between Putin and Fico in eight years, Tas state news agency reported.