Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks in the Kremlin with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the meeting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico with the leader of the aggressor state russia, vladimir putin,

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding talks with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in Moscow, state TV channel Rossiya 24 reported.

Prime Minister Robert Fico’s surprise visit to Moscow on Sunday, reportedly to discuss natural gas and Ukraine, was a blow to European unity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address on Monday, 23 December, has once again criticised Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who on 22 December held talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin regarding gas supplies.

Robert Fico meets with the Russian president amid concerns about his country's gas supplies, and at a time when Slovakia is withdrawing support for Ukraine's war effort.

Fico’s views on Russia’s war on Ukraine differ sharply from most other European leaders. Slovakia's prime minister returned to power last year after his leftist party won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's desire to do business with Russia is a security issue for both Slovakia and the whole of Europe. Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter),

The Slovak opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) has criticized Prime Minister Robert Fico's meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, calling the talks a betrayal of the country and its allies.

By bne Berlin bureau Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made a surprise trip to Moscow on December 22 to hold rare face to face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he seeks to secure gas deliveries ahead of the end of the Ukrainiangas transit deal next week,