Robert Fico's handshake with Putin in Moscow gets Zelensky triggered

Opposition of Slovakia staged a rally in capital city Bratislava against the backdrop of Prime Minister Robert Fico's visit to Moscow and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Photo: kremlin.ru by Артём Геодакян, ТАСС, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

Robert Fico and Vladimir Putin

"In the capital of the Slovak Republic, hundreds of people gathered in front of the government building on Monday to protest against the visit of Prime Minister Fico,” Markiza TV channel said.

The protest act was organised by supporters of Ukraine, who accused the head of the Slovak government of promoting Russia's influence.

Liberal opposition parties threatened to put forward a vote of no confidence in Fico's government. In their opinion, the prime minister is using the topic of gas supplies, which cannot be used as a pretext for normalizing relations with Moscow.

Earlier, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Fico discussed energy issues and bilateral relations between the states. The leaders of the two countries also discussed the Ukraine conflict. Putin conveyed his vision of the situation to the head of the Slovak government, Peskov noted.

Zelensky wants Fico under investigation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Slovakia's special services to investigate Prime Minister Robert Fico's ties with Russia.

"This should be a matter of concern for Slovakia's law enforcement agencies and special services," Zelensky wrote on X adding that Moscow gives Fico significant discounts that Slovakia has to pay for.

Earlier, Robert Fico said that his visit to Moscow and meeting with Putin came in response to Volodymyr Zelensky's remark about his opposition to gas transit through Ukraine. The Russian leader confirmed his readiness to continue supplying gas to the West, although Putin did not consider that feasible next year, the Slovak Prime Minister said.

Fico's gas dilemma

The transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine will cease on January 1, 2025. The countries of Eastern Europe, including Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, etc., want the supplies to resume.

With his visit to Moscow, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is trying to resolve the issue of gas supplies to Slovakia. The country depends on Russian energy almost entirely, and the question of natural gas supplies remains critical for Slovakia.

Slovakia may lose both Russian gas supplies through Ukraine and transit money for supplies to Austria as Brussels may punish Fico for his Moscow handshake with Putin. Slovakia could thus be forced to buy more expensive LNG through Italy or Croatia, since all pipeline suppliers have now increased their supplies to the maximum. Prices on natural gas in Europe will rise as soon as gas transit through Ukraine stops.

Details

Slovakia officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), hosting a population exceeding 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Košice. The Slavs arrived in the territory of the present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. From the late 6th century, parts of modern Slovakia were incorporated in the Avar Khaghanate. In the 7th century, the Slavs played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire. In the 9th century, the Avar Khaghanate dissolved, and the Slavs established the Principality of Nitra, which was later conquered by the Principality of Moravia, leading to the formation of Great Moravia. In the 10th century, after the dissolution of Great Moravia, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary, which then became the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the Mongol invasion of Europe, much of the territory was destroyed, but was recovered largely thanks to Béla IV. During the 16th and 17th centuries, southern portions of present-day Slovakia were incorporated into provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

On 15 May 2024 Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was shot and critically injured in the central Slovak town of Handlová, in front of its House of Culture after a government meeting. He was hospitalised and stabilised after emergency surgery. The suspect, 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, was detained by police at the scene. During interrogation, he stated that he acted primarily because of the Fico government's opposition to military assistance to Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fico was in his fourth term as prime minister after being elected in the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election as head of the Smer party. He had run for office on an Eurosceptic platform, halting military aid to Ukraine and pushing for friendly relations with Russia, while criticising NATO and the United States. At the time of his shooting, his cabinet was introducing proposals to eliminate a special anti-graft prosecutor and take greater control of the public broadcaster RTVS.