Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico of attempting to “help” President Vladimir Putin by maintaining the importation of Russian gas.
Zelensky stated that EU leaders had observed Fico, who visited Moscow on Sunday, opposing efforts to reduce Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, “implying that he wants to help Putin earn money to fund the war and weaken Europe”.
“We believe that such assistance to Putin is immoral,” he wrote on X on Monday.
Slovakia, which relies heavily on Russian gas, has expressed concerns about losing supplies as the contract for gas transit through Ukraine expires on December 31.
Ukraine has explicitly stated that it will not renew the agreement with Russia.
“This is a very difficult situation which requires increased attention,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
Fico remains one of the few European leaders to maintain amicable ties with Moscow since hostilities with Ukraine escalated in 2022.
Fico’s visit, as the leader of a NATO and European Union member state, had not been previously announced.
In a statement shared on his Facebook account following the discussions, Fico described Sunday’s meeting as “a response to” Zelensky’s opposition to any “transit of gas through Ukraine to our territory”.
Fico claimed that Putin had reaffirmed Russia’s “readiness… to continue to supply gas to the West and to Slovakia, which is practically impossible after January 1 2025”, though he did not provide further details.
The two leaders also exchanged views on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and discussed “the possibility of an early peaceful end” to the war, according to Fico.
