Russian President Vladimir Putin received Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at the Kremlin on Sunday, December 22, one of the only European leaders to have remained close to him, announced the Russian presidency, while Ukraine plans to end on January 1 to the contract allowing Russian natural gas to transit through its territory, Russian media report. This visit by a Western leader to Moscow, very rare, had not been officially announced.
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Robert Fico, who has again led the government of Slovakia, a member country of the EU and NATO, since the fall of 2023, has decided to stop all military aid to Ukraine and is calling for peace talks. He also criticizes kyiv for endangering his country’s supply of Russian gas, on which it is very dependent.
Access to Russian gas is crucial for Slovakia due to its landlocked situation and Robert Fico, known to be close to Russia, has not spared his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, without succeeding in influencing the latter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian news agency that the two leaders would not make a joint statement after their meeting, which he said was organized ” a few days ago “.
Zelensky against Russian gas transit through Azerbaijan
Ukraine announced last summer that it would not renew the contract binding it to Russia until the end of the year to transport Russian gas to Europe via its extensive network of gas pipelines. In recent weeks, Slovakia and Hungary have complained that the tap will be completely turned off by December 31, with no real credible alternative.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke out against a possible transit mechanism for Russian gas purchased by Azerbaijan, one of the options considered for several months to replace the end of deliveries of Russian gas via the Ukraine.
“ We don’t want to play games. If it is another country that receives Russian gas and then transits this gas, that amounts to continuing to make money from this war and transferring money to Russia », Explained the Ukrainian president last Thursday during a press conference in Brussels.
“ If anyone prevents gas transit and causes price hikes and economic damage to the EU, it’s Zelensky », Robert Fico reacted on Friday, annoyed. Recalling that his country provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, he threatened possible “ measures » to punish kyiv for its decision.
THE ” highest European leaders » from this trip to Moscow
Robert Fico specified on his Facebook account that he had informed the “ highest European leaders » of his intention to go to Moscow, Volodymyr Zelensky having reiterated during the European summit held Thursday in Brussels his intention to end the contract with Russia.
“ The highest representatives of the EU were informed on Friday of my trip and its objective. My meeting today was a reaction to Ukrainian President V. Zelensky, who responded to my personal question on Thursday by saying that he was against any gas transit through Ukraine to our territory. The Ukrainian president also favors sanctions against Russia’s nuclear program. Such attitudes harm Slovakia financially and endanger electricity production at Slovak nuclear power plants, which is unacceptable. Russian President V. Putin confirmed Russia’s desire to continue supplying gas to the West and Slovakia, which is practically impossible after January 1, 2025, taking into account the attitude of the Ukrainian president », writes the head of the Slovak government on his Facebook page.
Robert Fico also discussed the war in Ukraine with Vladimir Putin, he wrote on Facebook: “ During a long conversation, V. Putin and I exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine, the possibility of a quick peaceful end to the war and mutual relations between the Slovak Republic and the Russian Federation , which I intend to standardize. »
The head of the Slovak government is only the third European leader to visit the Kremlin since Russia launched its military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022, after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022 and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last July .
Slovakia has concluded a long-term contract with the Russian gas giant Gazprom and assures that a supply not passing through Ukraine would cost it 220 million euros in additional transit costs.
Hungary, which also receives Russian gas via Ukraine, will continue to be supplied by Moscow, but via the TurkStream gas pipeline built at the bottom of the Black Sea.
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