Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks in the Kremlin with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding talks with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in Moscow, state TV channel Rossiya 24 reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address on Monday, 23 December, has once again criticised Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who on 22 December held talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin regarding gas supplies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday blasted Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico over his reluctance to end his country's dependency on Russian gas, calling it a "big security issue" for Europe and saying Fico declined compensation.

The situation with European countries that buy Russian gas is very complicated and requires increased attention, the Kremlin said on Monday after talks the previous day between President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2022.

Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one on Sunday evening.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico (shown here in Brussels in February 2024), in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the meeting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico with the leader of the aggressor state russia, vladimir putin,

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made a statement following his visit to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow. According to him, the visit was a response to Ukraine's reluctance to continue the transit of gas from Russia to Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico held discussions in Moscow concerning the impending expiration of the gas transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine, set to conclude on 31,