Putin thanks Slovakia’s Fico for visiting Moscow on Victory Day
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to Moscow on Saturday, the only European Union leader to be present as Russia celebrated the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Putin thanked Fico for paying tribute to the memorials and graves of Soviet soldiers. Fico was criticized in Slovakia and the EU for his visit.
Putin assured Fico that Russia would do everything in its power to meet Slovakia’s energy needs and welcomed the resumption of bilateral cooperation. Slovakia is heavily dependent on Russian oil supplies and was granted an exemption from EU sanctions against Russia with Ukraine’s agreement.
Before the visit, there were rumors that Fico might convey a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he had spoken twice shortly before, but Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser, said Fico had not conveyed any messages.
Last year, Fico was the only EU and NATO leader to be present in Moscow during the annual May 9 celebrations. He stressed before his visit that he was deliberately not attending the military parade but was instead laying a wreath at a memorial to the dead.
Speaking in Stockholm on Saturday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Fico’s presence in Moscow.
“Robert Fico knows we disagree. I deeply regret it and we will talk to him about this day in Moscow,” Merz said at a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm.
