The unannounced pre-Christmas meeting between Fico and Putin was reported as an attempt by the then Slovak leader to find a way around Kiev’s refusal to extend Russian gas supplies to Bratislava after the existing contract expires at the end of 2024.
There was no mention of brokering peace talks, but Fico later said in a social media post, “During a long conversation with V. Putin, we exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine and the possibility of bringing the war to a peaceful end.”
Slovakian opposition leader Michal Simechka told local media that if Fico wanted peace between Russia and Ukraine, he should tell Putin to end the war. good night.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy noted at
“Why is this leader (Fico) so dependent on Moscow?” Zelensky asked. “How much is being paid to him, and what is being paid?”
