Listen: Fico, Putin and the EU: an ‘independent’ foreign policy?

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is once again in the spotlight for his closeness to Moscow. Yesterday, Tuesday, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing where the Russian leader praised him for pursuing what he called an independent foreign policy.

But what does this so-called “independence” really mean for Slovakia, for Ukraine, and for the European Union?

Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.

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You can find the transcript here if you prefer reading:

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is once again in the spotlight for his closeness to Moscow. Yesterday, Tuesday, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing where the Russian leader praised him for pursuing what he called an independent foreign policy. But what does this so-called “independence” really mean for Slovakia, for Ukraine, and for the European Union?

So this praise from Putin in practice means opposing EU sanctions on Russia, questioning Kyiv’s government, and even resuming visa issuance for Russian citizens, something Brussels has advised member states against since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Fico also said Slovakia is extremely interested in restoring ties with Russia, while Putin encouraged him to consider cutting off Ukraine’s access to electricity and gas as retaliation for attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. It’s worth remembering here that Moscow has been striking Ukraine’s own energy grid for years, plunging millions into blackouts.

The meeting in China wasn’t just symbolic. It came ahead of Fico’s scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this Friday. There, Fico plans to deliver what he dramatically called messages and conclusions from his hour-long meeting with Putin. He’s already made it clear he’ll raise complaints about Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline, a Soviet-era lifeline that still delivers Russian crude to Slovakia and Hungary.

This marks the third time  that Fico has met Putin, even as he suspended Slovak military aid to Ukraine and vowed to block Kyiv’s NATO membership.

Now, Fico was the only EU leader attending the World War II commemorations in China, and this was his third meeting with Putin in less than a year. His position puts him at odds with the EU’s approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine and adds weight to Hungary’s similar stance under Viktor Orbán.

Domestically, tens of thousands of Slovaks have protested against Fico’s policies towards Russia. Internationally, his support risks weakening the EU’s united front on sanctions, energy security, and military assistance for Kyiv.

What’s next?

Well as I said on Friday, Fico meets Zelensky. What he’ll deliver are not peace proposals, but Putin’s talking points, repackaged as his own conclusions. He’s also courting China, Vietnam, and Serbia, signalling a deliberate tilt away from Brussels and towards Moscow and Beijing.

For the EU, this raises uncomfortable questions. How do you discipline a member state that insists on pursuing policies so clearly at odds with the Union’s collective stance? And how much longer can the EU afford to rely on unanimity in its foreign policy decisions, when one or two governments can hold the line hostage?

One thing is certain: Robert Fico has chosen his role on Europe’s stage. Not as a bridge-builder between East and West, but as the Kremlin’s man inside the Union. So how long he can play on both courts depends on the EU’s decisiveness and his voters back home.