MOSCOW, DEC 23 (AFP/APP/DNA):Russian President Vladimir Putin held surprise talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at the Kremlin on Sunday to discuss the future of Russian gas deliveries.
The two leaders also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, just hours after Putin had warned of harsh reprisals against Kyiv over a drone attack.
Slovakia, which heavily relies on Russian gas, has raised concerns about the prospect of losing supplies as a contract allowing its transit through Ukraine expires by year-end. Ukraine has made it clear it will not renew a transit contract that expires on December 31.
Fico is one of the few European leaders Putin has stayed friendly with since the 2022 eruption of hostilities with Ukraine. The visit by Fico, whose country is a NATO and European Union member, had not been previously announced.
Russian TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, a Kremlin insider, posted a short video showing the two leaders smiling and shaking hands.
Later Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov only confirmed that the meeting had ended, adding that the two leaders would not make a joint statement.
But Fico, in a statement posted on his Facebook account after the talks, said Sunday’s meeting was “in response to” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opposing any “transit of gas through Ukraine to our territory”.
Fico said Putin had confirmed Russia’s “readiness… to continue to supply gas to the West and to Slovakia, which is practically impossible after 1 January 2025”, but did not elaborate.
Both leaders exchanged views on the conflict in Ukraine, and “the possibility of an early peaceful end” to it.
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