Putin meets Slovak PM Fico in rare EU visit to Moscow

Putin meets Slovak PM Fico in rare EU visit to Moscow

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin. This marks a rare visit by an EU leader since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A working visit to Russia

Fico traveled to Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin in person on Sunday evening. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA agency that the talks are expected to focus on “the international situation” as well as supplies of Russian natural gas.

Russian natural gas in Slovakia

Russian natural gas continues to flow through Ukraine to some European countries, including Slovakia. This comes under a five-year agreement signed before the war that expires at the end of this year. At a summit in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told EU leaders that Kiev did not intend to extend the deal, which Fico viewed as damaging to his country's interests.

Alternative gas sources for Slovakia

Last month, Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan to prepare for possible disruptions in Russian supplies via Ukraine. An agreement was also reached this year to import US liquefied natural gas via a pipeline from Poland. The connection to Austrian, Hungarian and Czech networks also enables imports from Germany and other potential supplier countries.

Rare visits from European leaders

Visits and telephone calls from European heads of state and government to Putin have been rare since Moscow deployed troops in Ukraine. While Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Russia in July, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer also met with the Russian leader just weeks after the start of the war. Both trips drew criticism from Kyiv and European leaders.

Orbán and Fico: Pro-Russian positions

Orbán is widely seen as the EU leader with the closest ties to Putin. He has repeatedly blocked or weakened EU attempts to support Kiev and impose sanctions on Moscow. However, Fico represents a marked departure from the opinions of most other European leaders regarding Russia's war against Ukraine. The Slovak prime minister returned to power last year after his left-leaning Smer (Direction) party won parliamentary elections with a pro-Russian and anti-American agenda.

Fico’s threats and relations with Russia

Since taking office, Fico has ended his country's military support for Ukraine, criticized EU sanctions against Russia and committed to blocking Ukraine's entry into NATO. He was also one of the few high-ranking EU politicians to appear on Russian state television after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with the Rossiya-1 channel in October, he claimed that the West had “prolonged” the war by supporting Ukraine, adding that sanctions against Russia were ineffective. He also declared his willingness to negotiate with Putin.

Participation in military parades

Fico said he would take part in a military parade in Moscow next May that will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II. The Kremlin uses annual “Victory Day” celebrations to showcase its military successes, and Putin this year described Russian troops fighting in Ukraine as “heroes.”