But while Fico’s trip was mainly business, the group of Slovak MPs went around admiring Moscow’s architecture, attending theater plays and browsing Russian supermarkets to prove that stories about missing basic food supplies are (totally and completely!) false. Their positive outlook echoed another controversial recent Russia visit: Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson’s Moscow jolly back in … Read more
“Fico’s trip to Moscow was a disgrace for Slovakia,” Fico’s biggest political rival, Progressive Slovakia party leader Michal Šimečka, said in an interview with POLITICO. “But it’s part of a bigger story about a prime minister who doesn’t seem … interested in dealing with real problems that trouble people in Slovakia. Instead, he’s flying around … Read more
Europe’s next national leader looks likely to come from the far right. With Herbert Kickl in pole position to become chancellor of Austria, the European Union’s establishment is bracing for fresh torment ― and another punch in the guts in its stand against Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Kickl, who would become Austria’s first far-right leader since … Read more
Nothing, of course, was done with the papers I gave him. Determined that the story be told but unable to get it past my cautious editors, I decided to write a book about it. Before the book could be published, however, the file was released on the internet a few months ahead of Slovakia’s March … Read more
The Mitte Combined Heat and Power (CHP) natural gas power plant, operated by Vattenfall AB, in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Ukraine halted the flow of Russian gas to several European countries on New Year’s Day, bringing an end to Moscow’s decades-long dominance over Europe’s energy markets. … Read more
“Halting gas transit via Ukraine will have a drastic impact on us all in the EU — but not on the Russian Federation,” Slovak Prime Minister Fico said in a New Year’s address posted on social media. Fico — who is friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting him in Moscow in a surprise visit over … Read more
OK, Europe will have to endure again presidential histrionics and needling all-caps tweets, along with threats to withdraw from NATO and impose tariffs, but doesn’t that present an opportunity? Might now European leaders screw up their courage and loosen the apron strings? For years they’ve waffled on about strategic autonomy and sharing the burden more … Read more
Meanwhile, Kyiv could replace the lost power with imports from Romania and Poland, Galushchenko said. Warsaw has already offered its support in case of a cutoff. If “the goal [is] to make Ukraine [in] pain,” he said, “it doesn’t work in this situation.” Slovakia and Hungary, led by the Russia-friendly Fico and Viktor Orbán, have … Read more
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is threatening retaliatory measures against Ukraine if Kyiv stops Russian gas transit to Slovakia as of Jan. 1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week said his government “would not prolong the transit of Russian gas” once the current contract expires at the end of this year. Zelenskyy accused Fico of … Read more
The unannounced pre-Christmas meeting between Fico and Putin was reported at the time as an attempt by the Slovak leader to find a way around Kyiv’s refusal to extend Russian gas deliveries to Bratislava following the expiry of an existing contract at the end of 2024. No mention was then made of brokering peace talks, … Read more
