Fico is the second EU chief, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, to satisfy Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Sunday for talks within the Kremlin.
This uncommon go to marks solely the second time an EU chief has met Putin since Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This comes after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited the Russian chief in Moscow earlier this 12 months.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Fico arrived in Russia on a “working go to” and met Putin face-to-face on Sunday night.
He didn’t instantly specify the main focus of the talks.
This follows the latest escalation of a long-running dispute between Fico and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over Zelenskyy’s resolution to utterly cease the transit of Russian fuel by way of Ukrainian territory after the tip of 2024.
Slovakia, a landlocked nation, stays closely depending on Russian fuel, which it will get from Gazprom, the state monopoly, by way of a pipeline that runs throughout Ukraine.
“If anybody will stop the transit of fuel on the territory of the Slovak Republic, if anybody will trigger a rise in fuel costs on European territory, if anybody will trigger huge financial harm to the European Union, it’s President Zelenskyy,” Robert Fico stated in a press convention on the finish of the one-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
“He has the best to be nervous. I would not need to be in his sneakers as a result of the nation is struggling,” he added, insisting Slovakia would by no means permit Ukraine to hitch NATO.
Visits and cellphone calls from European leaders to Putin have been uncommon since Moscow despatched troops to Ukraine.
Orbán’s go to in July drew widespread condemnation from each Kiev and European leaders, and the Hungarian prime minister is extensively seen as having the warmest relations with Putin amongst EU leaders.
It has frequently blocked, delayed or undermined EU efforts to help Kiev and impose sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.
