Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders with whom he has remained friendly since the outbreak of hostilities with Ukraine, Russian television said.
“Putin is currently holding talks in the Kremlin with Slovak Prime Minister Fico,” Russian TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, a Kremlin insider, posted on his Telegram channel, along with a short video showing the two leaders.
The visit by Fico, whose country is a member of both NATO and the European Union, had not previously been announced.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Zarubin that this was arranged “a few days ago”.
Peskov did not provide details of the talks, but said it could be “assumed” that the supply of Russian gas would be discussed.
Ukraine announced this year that it will not renew a contract allowing the transit of Russian gas through its territory, which expires on December 31.
Slovakia and Hungary, which rely on Russian gas, have expressed concerns about the prospect of losing supplies.
Fico ended military aid to Ukraine when he became prime minister again in October 2023 and, like Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, has called for peace talks.
Fico announced in November that he would go to Moscow in May for ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)