Putin meets Slovakian Fico throughout uncommon go to by European chief

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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Moscow on Sunday and met with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin stated, one of many few conferences the Russian president has had with an EU chief since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine virtually three years in the past.

This go to, not introduced prematurely however confirmed on Sunday by the Kremlin by sharing a video of Fico in Moscow shaking Putin’s hand, follows an intensification of contacts between Russian and Western politicians in anticipation of the inauguration in January of Donald Trump as President of the US.

The problem of power safety was additionally on the coronary heart of the assembly, with Ukraine committing to stopping the transit of Russian fuel via its territory from the beginning of 2025.

The menace from kyiv represents a critical problem for Slovakia, which is certainly one of three EU states, together with Hungary and Austria, that stay closely depending on Russian fuel transported via Ukraine.

Trump stated he may discover a resolution to the battle and obtain a ceasefire in Ukraine in “sooner or later,” elevating the likelihood that he would insist that kyiv undertake a peace deal considerably extra useful to Moscow .

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone with Putin final month for the primary time in two years, as European leaders put together for what the beginning of Trump’s second time period may deliver and focus on methods to take care of their help for Ukraine.

Fico’s go to was deliberate a number of days in the past, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed a Russian state tv reporter on Sunday. He added that Putin and Fico had been assembly “one-on-one” and would probably focus on present affairs and the transit of Russian fuel via Ukraine.

Fico, who survived an assassination attempt earlier this yr took a friendlier stance towards Moscow than different EU heads of state.

Slovakia’s prime minister has opposed Western sanctions in opposition to Russia for invading Ukraine. His place is much like that of neighboring Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who additionally visited Moscow in July this yr, sparking an outcry from his counterparts throughout Europe.

Sunday’s go to marks the primary in-person assembly between Putin and Fico in eight years, the official Tass information company reported.