Slovak Prime Minister Fico talks to Putin during surprise visit to Russia. russia-ukraine war news

Slovak Prime Minister Fico talks to Putin during surprise visit to Russia. russia-ukraine war news

According to the statements, FICO discussed the Ukraine war and the transportation of Russian gas to Slovakia via Ukraine.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico held face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a surprise visit to Moscow, according to the Kremlin.

Fico discussed a “peaceful end to the war” in Ukraine, according to a Facebook post by the Slovak leader, who has been critical of EU support for Kiev. He believes there is no military solution to the conflict that has attracted Western leaders, who view Russia as a security threat.

Fico said on Facebook after the meeting that top EU officials had been informed about his visit, the third by an EU leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Previous visits by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022 and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last July faced criticism from EU allies.

The Slovak leader said the visit came in response to talks last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed opposition to any gas transit from Ukraine to Slovakia, according to the Slovak leader.

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Zelensky told EU leaders that Kiev had no intention of renewing the agreement, with Fico insisting it would harm his country’s interests.

“Russian President V Putin confirmed (the Russian Federation’s) readiness to continue supplying gas to the West and Slovakia, which, given the Ukrainian president’s stance, is practically impossible after January 1, 2025,” FICO said. Is.”

Russian natural gas still flows through Ukraine to some European countries, including Slovakia, under a five-year agreement signed before the war, which is set to expire at the end of this year.

Last month, Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan as it prepares to potentially block Russian supplies via Ukraine. Earlier this year, it struck a deal to import liquefied natural gas to the United States through a pipeline from Poland.

The country could also receive gas through Austrian, Hungarian and Czech networks, making imports from Germany possible, among other potential suppliers.

The Slovak Prime Minister said he and Putin exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine, the prospects for a peaceful end to the war, and Slovak-Russian relations, which he said he intended to “normalize”.

Fico cut off military aid to Ukraine after coming to power in 2023, as he changed Slovakia’s foreign policy. He has also criticized Western sanctions against Moscow.

Slovak opposition politicians described his visit to Moscow as “disgraceful”.

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