Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday, 22 December was in response to a statement made by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about halting the transit of Russian gas.

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US President-elect Donald Trump has said he is anticipating a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Source: Trump during a speech in Arizona broadcast by LiveNow from Fox Quote: "One of the things I want to do,

"President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible," Trump said during his remarks at Turning Point's America Fest convention.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico met Russian President Vladimir Putin in a previously unannounced visit to the Kremlin on Sunday for talks, Russian state media reported, leading to dismay among opposition lawmakers in Bratislava.

Fico ended military aid to Ukraine when he became prime minister again in October 2023, and like Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban has called for peace talks.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico met Russian President Vladimir Putin in a previously unannounced visit to the Kremlin on Sunday for talks, Russian state media reported. It was the first visit by an official representative from Slovakia to Russia since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.