Putin meets Slovakia’s Fico in rare visit by EU leader

Stay informed with free updates

Just sign up Russian politics myFT Digest – delivered straight to your inbox.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Moscow on Sunday and met with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said, one of the Russian president’s few meetings with the EU leader since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

The visit, which was unannounced but confirmed by the Kremlin on Sunday after a video of Fico shaking Putin’s hand circulated in Moscow, follows an increase in contacts between Russian and Western politicians ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.

The key background of the meeting was also the issue of energy security, where Ukraine undertook to stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory from the beginning of 2025.

The threat from Kiev is a serious challenge for Slovakia, which is one of three EU countries, along with Hungary and Austria, that are heavily dependent on Russian gas passing through Ukraine.

Trump has claimed he can find a solution to the conflict and a ceasefire in Ukraine “within a day”, raising the prospect that he could insist that Kiev accept a peace deal that is significantly more favorable to Moscow.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone with Putin for the first time in two years last month as European leaders prepare for the start of Trump’s second term and discuss ways to maintain support for Ukraine.

Fico’s visit was planned a few days ago, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state television reporter on Sunday. He added that Putin and Ficho are meeting “frequently” and are likely to discuss current issues and the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine.

Ficon, who? survived the assassination attempt At the beginning of this year, he adopted a more friendly position towards Moscow than the leaders of other EU countries.

The prime minister of Slovakia expressed his opposition to the adoption of Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. His stance is similar to that of neighboring Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who also visited Moscow in July this year, sparking protests from his colleagues across Europe.

Sunday’s visit marks the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Fico in eight years, state news agency Tass reported.