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.

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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday sharply criticized Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico for his visit to Russia. Zelensky accused Fico of having personal motives for the trip and of being dependent on Moscow.

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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico (shown here in Brussels in February 2024), in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

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.

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,