Europe Slovakian head of government Fico outraged by visit to Putin
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico's surprise visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin has caused great consternation in the EU country bordering Ukraine.
23.12.2024, 05:11
SDA
Opposition politicians accused him of betraying his own country with his trip to Moscow - the first by an official representative of the Slovak Republic since Russia's invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. According to both sides, the talks with Putin were about Russian natural gas supplies to Slovakia, which has been a member of both NATO and the European Union since 2004.
Unlike its neighbor to the south, Hungary, Slovakia has so far supported all of the EU's Ukraine aid and all sanctions against Russia without exception. In striking contrast to this, the left-wing populist Fico has repeatedly attracted attention by publicly criticizing the Ukraine policy of the EU and NATO. The background to his visit to Moscow is that Russian gas supplies to Slovakia will be stopped at the end of the year, as Ukraine will no longer allow transit via its territory.
"Fico is a disgrace for Slovakia"
The Slovakian opposition reacted indignantly to the meeting in the Kremlin. "The prime minister should discuss gas transit for Slovakia in Kiev," Michal Simecka, leader of the largest opposition party, told the TASR news agency. Fico's visit to Putin was "mendacious theater for his voters", said the leader of the liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS). "He is betraying his own country and leading us step by step away from Europe."
Branislav Gröhling, leader of the smaller liberal opposition party Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), formulated his criticism even more harshly: "Robert Fico is a disgrace for Slovakia. He is not behaving like the head of government of a sovereign country, but like a common collaborator." Fico does not speak for the entire Slovakian nation, emphasized Gröhling.
Visits by top European politicians to Moscow have become rare since the war began almost three years ago. When Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer became the first Western head of government to meet Putin in Moscow a few weeks after the attack on Ukraine, he was met with scathing criticism. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's high-handed visit to the Kremlin leader in July of this year was equally unappreciated by EU colleagues, but came as less of a surprise given his well-known close contacts with Moscow.
Slovakia threatened with a gas crisis
In the days leading up to his meeting with Putin, Fico had tried in vain at the EU summit in Brussels and elsewhere to avert the end to the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia announced by Ukraine. He emphasized that this threatened his country with a serious crisis because it was completely dependent on Russian gas and had hardly any alternatives. Slovakia had therefore received permission from the EU to continue purchasing Russian gas. However, this EU approval is effectively worthless for the country as Ukraine will no longer allow gas transit from the turn of the year.
At the most recent EU summit, there was therefore an exchange of words between Fico and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, which both politicians confirmed. Selenskyj explained that while Slovakia only had economic problems, people were dying every day in his country.
EU Council President António Costa had been informed about Fico's trip to Moscow, according to EU circles on Sunday evening. It is doubtful whether he was in agreement with this. There was no official final statement after the meeting in the Kremlin. The Russian side remained silent about the content of the meeting, having previously only hinted at gas supplies as a possible topic.
Fico defends visit to Putin
Fico then published a statement on Facebook with a photo of himself and Putin. He was making sovereign policy and had informed the highest representatives of the EU about his trip on Friday, the Slovak wrote. This was a reaction to the announced halt to the gas transit and Zelensky's call for sanctions against the Russian nuclear program, which would also put Kiev's power generation in Slovakian power plants at risk. He also spoke with Putin about the military situation in Ukraine and the possibility of a peaceful end to the war in the near future.
There are sometimes major differences of opinion on Ukraine policy between both EU and NATO member states. The same applies to Zelenskyi's demands on the Western allies. The Ukrainian president has repeatedly complained about the German government's hesitant stance and recently criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for speaking to Putin on the phone against his will. In public, he repeatedly expressed his lack of understanding for the Chancellor's refusal to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Nato chief Rutte: Selenskyj's criticism of Scholz is unfair
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte considers the sometimes harsh criticism of the Federal Chancellor to be unjustified. "I have often told Selenskyj that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it's unfair," Rutte told the German Press Agency in an interview. What Scholz has done for Ukraine is impressive. He had helped to ensure that Germany was the second most important military supporter of Ukraine after the USA - and Kiev could also be grateful for this achievement.
At the same time, Rutte made it clear that he would certainly supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not place any restrictions on their use. "Generally speaking, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," said the former Dutch Prime Minister. However, it was not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.
Russian drone swarms over Ukraine
While discussions continue at a political level about the right course in times of war, the fighting in Ukraine continues. Late in the evening, the Ukrainian air defense system once again reported swarms of Russian combat drones flying in from various directions. Their targets were initially unclear due to the constantly changing flight directions. With this tactic, the Russian military is trying to overload the Ukrainian air defense.
Russia wants to wear down the Ukrainian population in the third winter of war with ever new drone and missile attacks. Many of the attacks are aimed at Ukraine's energy infrastructure in order to bring the supply of electricity - and therefore also water and district heating - to a standstill.
Putin had threatened to retaliate in the morning after a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian city of Kazan on the Volga, a city with over a million inhabitants. Six Ukrainian drones struck residential buildings there on Saturday, while another hit an industrial plant. According to official reports, there were no casualties in the attack.
