© EPA/ MAXIM SHEMETOV / POOL The politician understands that he will be criticized for this, so he is trying to present the meeting as a tool for transmitting information to the European Union.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Beijing today. He said he will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this Friday to have serious talks with him, including about the “unacceptable” attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Druzhba oil pipeline, Russian media quoted him as saying.
Fico criticized European policy, comparing it to a frog at the bottom of a well that doesn't see the bigger picture. He made it clear that Slovakia's position on Ukraine has not changed – our country should not be a member of NATO. Meanwhile, he fully allows accession to the European Union.
He also assured that Bratislava will vote against the European Commission's Repower EU plan, which envisages a phasing out of Russian fossil fuels by 2027. And that Slovak companies will continue to operate in the Russian market, because it is supposedly “beneficial” for them. The Prime Minister understands that he will be criticized for meeting with a dictator, so he is trying to present it as a tool for transferring information between Russia and the EU.
Meanwhile, Putin recommended that Fico limit oil and gas supplies to Ukraine. According to him, this would supposedly “help Kyiv realize that it is impossible to violate other people's interests.”
