Protesters say Fico dragging Slovakia to Russia in Ukraine gas dispute

11/1/2025 7:44

Thousands of protesters in the Slovak capital held banners and chanted slogans on Friday accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of dragging the country towards Russia after he met President Vladimir Putin last month amid a gas dispute with Ukraine.



Slovakia has argued with Ukraine over its decision to halt the transit of Russia's gas through its territory from Jan. 1, seeking to cut Moscow off from the revenue stream.



Slovakia had sought to keep the gas transit, and Fico met Putin in Moscow on Dec. 22 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected extending any gas flows.



His trip to Moscow was only the third by an EU government head since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.