Secret gasoline talks: Fico’s assembly with Putin –

Russian President Vladimir Putin gained Slovak High Minister Robert Fico – one of the most few Ecu leaders with whom he has remained shut – on the Kremlin on Sunday. The discuss with, which used to be no longer introduced prematurely however used to be showed by way of the Kremlin, happened amid the standoff between Slovakia and Ukraine over power safety. What precisely had been the themes of the non-public conversations between the 2 remained a secret, and no professional commentary adopted the assembly.

“Putin is these days chatting with Slovakian High Minister Fico within the Kremlin,” Pavel Zarubin, a Russian tv journalist with shut ties to the Kremlin, wrote on his Telegram channel.which aired a quick video appearing the 2 leaders.

Requested by way of Zarubin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned the discuss with used to be deliberate “a couple of days in the past.”

Putin and Fico held personal talks, and Peskov didn’t need to specify the themes mentioned at this assembly. On the other hand, the Kremlin spokesman hinted that the problem of Russian gasoline transit is at the desk.

Gasoline, pursuits and addictions

In the summertime, Ukraine mentioned it might no longer renew a five-year contract for the transit of Russian herbal gasoline to Europe as it didn’t need to lend a hand Moscow’s struggle device.

Slovakia will depend on the transit of Russian herbal gasoline via its neighbor Ukraine and has stepped up efforts to maintain the ones flows past 2025, whilst criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to increase the contract, which expires on the finish of the 12 months .

The Slovak high minister mentioned Putin had showed Moscow’s willingness to proceed supplying herbal gasoline to Slovakia. Fico, on the other hand, added that that is “nearly unimaginable”, because the settlement at the transit of the blue gasoline via Ukraine expires on the finish of the 12 months.

Final month, Slovakia signed a momentary pilot contract for the acquisition of herbal gasoline from Azerbaijan, and previous this 12 months it concluded a deal to import American liquefied herbal gasoline (LNG) by means of a gasoline pipeline from Poland, he recollects. The rustic too can obtain gasoline during the Austrian, Hungarian and Czech grids, permitting imports from Germany amongst different possible providers.

The Slovak high minister’s discuss with to the Kremlin got here after a anxious assembly between Fico and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels on Thursday. There, they mentioned Kiev’s plans to forestall the transit of Russian gasoline via its territory from the start of 2025.

Kiev’s risk poses a major problem to Slovakia, which is certainly one of 3 Ecu Union international locations, at the side of Hungary and Austria, which are closely depending on Russian gasoline transited via Ukraine.

Previous this week, Fico criticized Ukraine’s plans to finish gasoline transit via its territory, asking why it had “the appropriate to hurt the nationwide financial pursuits” of an EU member state.

He additionally rejected Kiev’s claims that Slovakia earns about 500 million. bucks a 12 months from buying and selling in less expensive Russian gasoline, a few of which is then transited from Slovakia to the neighboring Czech Republic.

Fico, who survived an assassination try this 12 months, has taken a friendlier stance in opposition to Moscow than different EU heads of state.

Slovakia’s high minister antagonistic the adoption of Western sanctions in opposition to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. His stance is very similar to that of neighboring Hungary’s High Minister Viktor Orbán, who additionally visited Moscow in July this 12 months, angering his colleagues throughout Europe.

The December 22 discuss with is the primary private assembly between Putin and Fico in 8 years.

Zelensky’s response

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Slovak High Minister Robert Fico of short of to “lend a hand” his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “make cash to finance the struggle and weaken Europe”.

It’s value noting that once their assembly in Moscow, Fico and Putin didn’t factor joint statements or reply to media questions. They just can not say publicly the rest about what they mentioned within the assembly. They’re petrified of the general public’s response.

Moscow supplies…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) December 23, 2024

“It’s value noting that once their assembly in Moscow, Fico and Putin didn’t make joint statements and didn’t resolution questions from the media. They just can not publicly say the rest about what they mentioned on the assembly. They’re petrified of the response to the general public,” the Ukrainian president wrote in his put up at the X social community.

Previous nowadays, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t touch upon what possible answer Putin and Fico mentioned, restricting himself to pronouncing that the placement with Russian gasoline provides to Europe could be very difficult.

In some other put up, he accused Fico of no longer short of to search out answers to exchange Russian gasoline and ensure Europe’s “power independence”.

Zelensky reminded that his nation is “shedding folks on account of the struggle that Putin began (nearly 3 years in the past), and he thinks that such lend a hand for Putin is immoral.”