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Slovakian Prime Minister Fico meets Putin, in a rare visit by an EU leader to Moscow

2024-12-22 20:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Slovakian Prime Minister Fico meets Putin, in a rare visit by an EU leader to

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia's aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022.

Mr Fico arrived in Russia on a "working visit" and met President Putin one-on-one on Sunday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's RIA news agency.

According to the spokesman, the talks would focus on the "international situation" and the supply of Russian natural gas.

Visits and phone calls by European leaders to the Russian president have been rare since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine, although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Russia in July. Mr Orban's visit was denounced by Kiev and European leaders.

Mr Fico's views on Russia's war on Ukraine contrast with those of other European leaders. The Slovak prime minister returned to power last year after his leftist Smer (Direction) party won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russian, anti-American platform.

Since then, he has cut off his country's military aid to Ukraine, criticized EU sanctions on Russia and vowed to block Ukraine's NATO membership.

The Slovak leader was also one of the rare senior EU politicians to appear on Russian state TV following Russia's intervention in Ukraine.

In an interview with the Rossiya-1 channel in October, he claimed that the West has "prolonged the war" by supporting Ukraine, adding that sanctions against Russia were ineffective.

He declared that he was ready to negotiate with Putin. He also pledged to take part in a military parade in Moscow next May that will mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Kremlin has used annual "Victory Day" celebrations to highlight its battlefield prowess, and Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine as "heroes" at this year's event./VOA





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