Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday ahead of Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Putin welcomed both Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the Kremlin shortly before the military parade started on Red Square.
Fico is notably the only European Union leader to have traveled to the Russian capital for the celebrations. His visit sparked criticism among EU officials, who view the trip as undermining European solidarity with Kyiv.
While flying to Moscow on Thursday, Fico was forced to take a detour after Lithuania and other Baltic nations closed their airspace to the Slovak and Serbian leaders in protest against their planned attendance at the Moscow event.
Fico, who last met with Putin in December, has aligned himself with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a pro-Russian voice in the EU, opposing military aid to Ukraine and vowing to block its NATO membership aspirations.
Last July, Orbán sparked uproar among European leaders when he visited Moscow, shaking hands with Putin on that trip.
In stark contrast to Fico’s presence in Moscow, several Western ministers and top diplomats — including EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský — traveled to Ukraine on Friday to honor the victims of Russian aggression and discuss the creation of a special tribunal to investigate alleged war crimes by Kremlin forces.
The post Fico shakes Putin’s hand as Russia’s war victory parade kicks off appeared first on Politico.
