Slovenia's Fico in surprise visit to Putin in Moscow

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : Fico stated in his Facebook post that "the highest representatives" of the EU had been informed about the visit in advance.
58% : Fico and Orban are allied in their support of Russia in defiance of most of the rest of the EU.
55% : The EU in September also imported Russian pipeline gas worth €547.8mn in October, the highest level since June 2024.
54% : In the meantime, Hungary has become a trading centre for Russian piped gas coming into the EU, while Belgium, France and Spain are the centres for Russian LNG shipped to Europe.
52% : "I don't have to tell you what kind of reaction [this] will cause among other European leaders from the EU," Vucic said.
51% : EU countries paid €701.5mn for Russian LNG in September, up by 28% month-on-month and by 26% y/y.
50% : The Council of the EU confirmed European Council President António Costa had been briefed but declined further remarks, Politico reports.
48% : This year the EU has gradually increased the share of Russian gas in total gas imports as it comes under pressure due to colder than expected weather.
48% : Slovakia's largest gas company, the state-owned Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP), concluded a pilot deal with Azerbaijani national gas company Socar in November.
43% : If the contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine is not extended at the end of the year, the volume of Russian-supplied gas to the EU will be reduced by 50% next year, Bloomberg notes.
39% : The Slovak leader said the trip was prompted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's recent remarks opposing gas transit through Ukraine to Slovakia, where he claimed that the EU was funding Russia's bloody war in Ukraine by buying Russian gas.
33% : EU leaders unhappy with the visitEU leaders were unhappy with Fico's unsanctioned visit to the Russian capital, but few condemned it publicly.
31% : Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic, another Putin ally, hinted at Fico's Moscow visit earlier in the week, warning of the backlash it could provoke among EU leaders.

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