Slovakia’s Robert Fico meets Vladimir Putin in surprise Moscow visit

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin – becoming only the third Western leader to meet the Russian leader since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Fico – a vocal critic of the European Union’s support for Kyiv in the war – said they discussed supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia – which his country relies on.

A deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom to transit energy through Ukraine to Slovakia is due to expire at the end of this year.

“Top EU officials were informed about my journey and its purpose… on Friday,” Fico wrote on Facebook.

However, the visit has gone down badly with opposition parties at home and with Slovakia’s neighbouring EU and Nato ally, the Czech Republic.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said his government had secured energy independence from Russia, and he was thinking of Ukrainians who could not spend Christmas with their loved ones because of Putin.

In Bratislava, Michal Simecka of Progressive Slovakia said Fico had made his country a tool for the Russian leader’s propaganda and his trip was a “disgrace for Slovakia and a betrayal of national interests”.

The Slovak Prime Minister said the meeting in Moscow was a reaction to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling EU leaders that Ukraine remained opposed to Russian gas being piped through its territory.

Fico, who survived being shot earlier this year, also said he had a “long conversation” with Putin and the two “exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine”.

Both discussed “the possibilities of an early, peaceful end of the war” and mutual relations between Russia and Slovakia, Fico wrote on Facebook.

Slovakia and Hungary, which both depend on Russian gas, have raised concerns about the prospect of supplies being interrupted.

In October 2023, when Fico became prime minister again, he ended Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine.

But, he has insisted he wants to be a “good, friendly neighbour” to Kyiv.

Fico’s meeting with Putin came as the leaders of Italy, Sweden, Greece and Finland met on Sunday for a security summit.

Speaking afterwards, Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Russia was a “permanent and dangerous threat” to the EU.

He also stressed the need for increased defence spending and support for Ukraine.