Despite criticism from Brussels, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. “On the contrary, it was an honor for me to receive this invitation and I gladly accepted it,” Fico said at a meeting with Putin broadcast by Russian state television on Friday. Fico, known for his pro-Russian stance, was the only EU head of government to attend the country's commemorations of the end of the Second World War.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas had warned Fico before his trip to Moscow that the Baltic EU states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had banned his plane from flying over the Russian capital. The Slovakian head of government therefore had to change his schedule. He described the overflight ban as “ridiculous childishness”.
During his visit to Moscow, Vico announced that Slovakia would veto an EU proposal to stop all energy imports from Russia to Europe. For his part, Putin assured the guest from Slovakia that he would do “everything” in his power to restore relations with Slovakia, which had been “frozen” under collective pressure from the West. Moscow had always regarded Slovakia as a “friendly country”.
Similar to his Hungarian colleague Viktor Orban, Fico has already repeatedly criticized the European Union's support for Ukraine after the start of the Russian offensive in the country as well as the EU's policy of isolating Russia. Fico had already met with Putin in December 2024 for talks on gas supplies. Gas supplies were also discussed at a meeting between Putin and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday. Vucic, who maintains good relations with the Kremlin, asked Putin to continue supplying his country with cheap gas.
Serbia is currently negotiating a new multi-year gas agreement with Russia; a three-year supply contract expires in May. Belgrade is heavily dependent on Russia to meet its gas needs and under its current contract with Moscow pays only 275 dollars per thousand cubic meters - far below the current market price in Europe. At a televised meeting with Vucic in the Kremlin, Putin said that Russia remains a “guarantor of Serbia's energy security”. Both heads of state would "definitely" discuss supplies from the state-controlled gas giant Gazprom to Serbia.
Serbia has traditionally maintained good relations with Russia - despite its status as an EU accession candidate. Belgrade has not joined the EU sanctions against Moscow.
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