Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin during his surprise visit to Russia, stating that he had arranged the trip to further promote Bratislava’s “sovereign policies.”
After meeting Putin at the Kremlin on Sunday evening, Fico posted a comment on Facebook, providing insight into their discussion and noting that EU leaders were informed of the purpose of his trip in advance.
“My meeting today was a response to Ukrainian President [Vladimir] Zelensky, who, answering my personal question on Thursday, said that he was against any transit of gas through Ukraine to our territory,” Fico explained. He noted that the Ukrainian leader has also been lobbying his EU supporters to impose sanctions against the Russian nuclear energy sector.
“Such attitudes financially harm Slovakia and threaten the operation of nuclear power plants in Slovakia, which is unacceptable,” Fico stated, adding it was his duty to protect and promote Slovakia’s “sovereign politics on all four directions.”
In its brief readout of the meeting, the Kremlin stated only that Putin hosted Fico for a “working visit” and that presidential aide Yury Ushakov was also present during their talks.
Fico has been critical of Western support for Ukraine, with his government cutting off state military aid to Kiev. He has repeatedly urged the EU to lift sanctions against Russia, insisting that the bloc must resume dialogue with Moscow once the conflict is over.
Fico stated he had a “long conversation” with Putin, during which they discussed “mutual relations” between Slovakia and Russia, which he intends to “standardize.” They also “exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine” and explored possibilities for reaching “an early peaceful end” to the conflict.
Fico survived an assassination attempt in May by an activist opposed to the prime minister’s views on relations with Kiev. In October, he revealed that he had faced a potential second attempt on his life due to his stance on the Ukraine conflict.
Earlier this week, Fico accused Zelensky of attempting to bribe him with €500 million ($521 million) to persuade Bratislava to support Kiev’s bid to join NATO. He recalled that during their talks, the Ukrainian leader declined to allow the transit of fuel and instead offered “absurd” proposals to resolve the gas issue.
Slovakia’s energy security has been jeopardized by Ukraine’s intention not to extend a transit agreement with Moscow, which expires on December 31. Natural gas to Slovakia is mainly delivered through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline.