Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived for a visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. The two discussed the future of Russian gas supplies to Slovakia, Fico said on his social media profile.
The surprise visit has sparked a wave of criticism in Slovakia, which has been a member of both NATO and the European Union since 2004. Opposition politicians accused Fico of betraying his country by traveling to the Kremlin - the first such visit by a state representative since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
A serious gas crisis?
Slovak Prime Minister Fico explained that the meeting with Putin was in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to deny Russian gas passage through Ukraine to Slovakia.
At the European Union summit earlier this month, Robert Fico unsuccessfully tried to prevent the suspension of Russian gas supplies to his country. He threatened that this would face a serious crisis for Slovakia, because the country is completely dependent on Russian energy supplies and has almost no alternatives. Therefore, Bratislava was allowed to continue importing gas from Russia. However, this has no practical effect for the country, because Ukraine has stopped transporting gas since the beginning of the new year.
Problem with Zelensky
At the meeting of European leaders, Robert Fico also spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky about this issue. Zelensky told his Slovak counterpart that while his country is facing economic problems, people are dying in Ukraine every day.
Slovakia, unlike its neighbor Hungary, has so far supported all EU decisions to assist Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia. At the same time, however, the left-wing populist Fico has repeatedly criticized the policies of the EU and NATO towards Ukraine.
"Shame on Slovakia”
The Slovak opposition reacted extremely harshly to the visit to the Kremlin. “The prime minister should discuss gas transit with Kiev,” said Michal Šimečka, the leader of Slovakia’s largest opposition party. Fico’s visit to Putin was “a sham for voters,” he said. Branislav Groling, who heads the smaller opposition Party of Freedom and Solidarity, was even more scathing: “Robert Fico is a disgrace to Slovakia. He is not behaving like the leader of a government of a sovereign state, but like a mere collaborator.” Fico does not speak for the entire Slovak nation, Groling said.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, visits by European politicians to Moscow have been rare. When Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer visited Moscow just weeks after the invasion began, the move was met with sharp criticism. Viktor Orbán's visit to the Kremlin in July this year also did not go down well with his European colleagues, but it was not a big surprise, given the Hungarian prime minister's overall attitude towards Moscow.
Author: Mark Hallam