Talks on natural gas?

Slovakian Prime Minister Fico meets Putin in the Kremlin

(Bild: Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico met unannounced with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Sunday. This was reported by Russian state television.

It is the first trip by an official representative of the Slovak Republic to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to unconfirmed reports, Fico was only expected to arrive in Moscow in the coming days.

There was initially no official information about the content of the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hinted that Fico may have wanted to talk to Putin about natural gas supplies.

The Slovakian Prime Minister, who is often criticized by his opponents as "pro-Russian", also wants to travel to Moscow next spring. He has accepted an invitation to commemorate World War II on May 9, 2025, the government office in Bratislava announced at the end of November.

Slovakia, an EU-NATO country, borders directly on Ukraine. Unlike Hungary, Slovakia has so far supported all of the EU's Ukraine aid and sanctions against Russia without exception.

Critics of the EU and NATO's Ukraine policy
In striking contrast, the left-wing populist Fico has repeatedly attracted attention with his public criticism of the EU and NATO's Ukraine policy. For example, he has repeatedly called on the European Union to broker peace instead of "prolonging the killing and destruction in Ukraine" by supplying weapons.

In terms of population, Slovakia was one of the most committed military supporters of the Russian invasion of its neighboring country after it began. After his return to government in October 2023, Fico ended direct arms deliveries from army stocks. However, the Slovakian arms industry continues to produce military equipment for Ukraine on a commercial basis.

Moscow trip outrages the opposition
Slovakian opposition politicians reacted indignantly to Fico's trip to Moscow. "The prime minister should discuss the gas transit for Slovakia in Kiev," Michal Šimečka, the leader of the largest opposition party, told the TASR news agency.

With his trip to Putin, however, Fico was "just playing a mendacious game for his voters", said the leader of the liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS). "And in doing so, he is betraying his own country and leading us step by step away from Europe."

"Fico is a disgrace for Slovakia"
 Branislav Gröhling, leader of the smaller liberal opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), formulated his criticism even more harshly: "Robert Fico is a disgrace for Slovakia. He is not behaving like the head of government of a sovereign country, but like a common collaborator." Fico does not speak for the entire Slovakian nation, he emphasized.