EU leader's visit to Moscow… Slovakia's PM Robert Fico meets President Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico at the Kremlin on Sunday. This is one of the rare visits to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media RIA that Fico had come to Russia for work and met President Putin on Sunday. According to Peskov, the main topic of discussion between the two leaders was related to the international situation and Russia's natural gas delivery.

Differences among EU leaders regarding Russia!

Since Putin announced the start of the military operation in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, it has become increasingly rare for EU leaders to speak to Putin on the phone or visit Moscow. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Russia in July. Orban's visit was condemned by Kyiv and other European leaders.

Slovakia's PM is pro-Russia

Robert Fico has sharp differences with most European leaders over the Russian attack on Ukraine. His party returned to power in Slovakia last year by winning elections with a pro-Russia and anti-American stance. Since then, he has suspended Slovak aid to Ukraine, lifted EU sanctions on Russia and vowed not to allow Ukraine to join NATO.

Western countries were blamed for the war

Fico has been the only senior EU leader to appear on Russian television since the start of the Ukraine war. In an interview to Russia-1 channel in October, he said that Western countries had prolonged the war by helping Ukraine. He called the sanctions imposed on Russia ineffective and said that he was ready to negotiate with Putin.

He has also announced to attend the event to be held in Moscow in May next year on the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Russia celebrates this day as Victory Day and Putin had described the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine as heroes in this year's event.