Fico wants to help Putin make money to finance war - Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico for traveling to Russia to meet with Putin.
The head of state announced this on the social network X, Censor.NET reports.
"It is worth noting that after the meeting in Moscow, Fico and Putin did not make joint statements or answer questions from the media. They simply cannot say anything publicly about what they discussed at the meeting. They are afraid of the public reaction. Moscow provides significant discounts for Fico, but Slovakia pays for them. Such discounts are not free - Russia is paid for them with sovereignty or shadow schemes. This should be of interest to Slovak law enforcement and intelligence agencies," he said.
Zelenskyy noted that the details of such funding were disclosed during a recent meeting of European leaders in Brussels.
"Leaders noted that Mr. Fico does not want to participate in joint European work on energy independence or look for a replacement for Russian gas, but rather wants to help Russia push American gas and other partners' energy resources out of Europe, which means he wants to help Putin make money to finance the war and weaken Europe. We are losing people because of the war that Putin started, and we believe that such assistance to Putin is immoral.
Mr. Fico even refused compensations that would ease the transition period and help get rid of dependence, so for him this issue is not a security issue. He is interested in Russian gas, which is worth $500 million a year. Other revenues come from the oil pipeline that passes through Ukrainian territory and brings in another $500 million a year, which helps Mr. Fico. So, his key goal is to do business with Russia, and this is what he benefits from. This is actually a big security issue for Slovakia and for the whole of Europe. Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow? How is he paid and how does he pay back?" - he summarized.
On December 22, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
After his meeting with Putin, Fico said that his visit was a response to Ukraine's reluctance to continue the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia.