Slovakian Prime Minister Fico visits Moscow amid Ukraine gas dispute – DW – 12/23/2024
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Sunday for what he and the Kremlin called a “working meeting” with President Vladimir Putin.
The visit came days after FICO reached an impasse in a dispute with the government in Kiev over the transit of Russian gas from Ukraine to Slovakia, with Volodymyr Zelensky saying he did not intend to extend existing contracts beyond the end of the year.
The Slovak leader tried to change this stance at the EU summit in Brussels earlier this week, but without success.
Fico is only the third leader of an EU member state to visit Moscow for talks with Putin over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He follows Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022 and most recently Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in July.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that the evening talks had ended and the two leaders would not issue a joint statement.
FICO: Ukraine’s gas, nuclear stance ‘unacceptable’
However, commenting on Facebook, Fico said he had informed “top EU officials” on Friday about his visit “and its purpose”.
“My meeting today was a response to the Ukrainian President [Volodymyr] Zelensky, who answered my personal question on Thursday that he was against any transit of gas through Ukraine to our region,” Fico said.
He said this position, and Zelensky’s support for sanctions against Russia’s nuclear program, “is hurting Slovakia economically and endangering the production of electricity at nuclear power plants in Slovakia, which is unacceptable. “
He said Putin had indicated a willingness to continue providing gas to Slovakia and the West, but that this was “practically impossible” given Zelensky’s position.
Slovakia enjoys special immunity from the EU, whose bloc of states aims to eventually cut off all ties to Russian gas, allowing it to continue importing from state energy giant Gazprom, but without Ukraine’s cooperation in deliveries. The means do not currently exist.
Fico said that in a “long conversation”, he and Putin discussed the military situation in Ukraine, the prospects for an early peaceful end to the war, and views on Slovak-Russian relations, “which I want to standardize.”
Slovak opposition says Fico should negotiate in Kiev instead
Fico’s visit was condemned domestically by his political opponents. Michal Simeka, leader of the largest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, said Fico was “only playing foul with his voters” and was also “betraying” the country.
“The prime minister should discuss gas transit to Slovakia in Kyiv,” Simeka said.
Branislav Grohling, leader of the small liberal opposition party Freedom and Solidarity, called Fico “disgraceful to Slovakia”, and said the prime minister did not speak for the entire country.
“He is behaving not like the head of government of a sovereign country, but like an ordinary ally,” Groehling said.
Fico ended military support for Ukraine when he became prime minister again in October 2023, but also said he wanted to be a “good, friendly neighbor” to Ukraine.
msh/km (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)