Zelensky called Fico's Russia visit a "big security issue" for Slovakia and Europe, asking: "Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow? What is being paid to him, and what does he pay with?"

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday, 22 December was in response to a statement made by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about halting the transit of Russian gas.

Fico is the third EU leader, after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, to meet with Putin since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. #Euro

Slovakia may consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine if it doesn’t allow the transit of gas from Russia to Europe.

Slovakia is dependent on gas passing through its neighbour Ukraine, and it has ramped up efforts to maintain those flows from 2025 while criticising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for refusing to extend the contract expiring at the end of the year.

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

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