Putin, Fico conclude Moscow talks amid gas supply concerns

The negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, which took place in Moscow, have concluded, according to press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov.

"The talks have finished," said the Kremlin representative, adding that no joint statements were planned for the media, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

On the evening of December 22, negotiations between Putin and Fico began at the Kremlin. This was the first in-person meeting between the Russian president and Fico since 2016.

Earlier, Peskov had indicated that the issue of Russian gas supplies could have been discussed during the talks, but he urged waiting for their conclusion. He also mentioned that Fico’s visit to Moscow had been planned for several days.

The day before, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that Fico intended to meet with President Putin in light of Ukraine’s refusal to allow the transit of gas through its territory. According to Vučić, the situation with gas supplies had become even more complicated following Ukraine’s decision.

Earlier, footage of the meeting between Putin and Fico was released. President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia's readiness to continue supplying gas to the West, as stated by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on his Facebook page (owned by Meta, which is banned in Russia for being labelled an extremist organization).

The talks between Putin and Fico took place on December 22 at the Kremlin. This marked the first personal meeting between the two leaders since 2016.

Prior to this, Dmitry Peskov had mentioned that the discussions might have focused on Russian gas supplies, though he advised waiting for their conclusion. He also noted that Fico’s visit to Moscow had been planned for several days.

Last week, President Putin reminded that Ukraine had halted the supply of Russian gas to European consumers. At that time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv would not extend the transit of Russian gas.

Earlier, Fico said his visit to Moscow was a response to Zelenskyy’s statement opposing any gas transit through Ukrainian territory.

By Aghakazim Guliyev