MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on December 22 lasted for about two hours, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told journalists on Monday.

"Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico paid a brief working visit yesterday. This meeting was substantial and lasted for two hours," Ushakov said.

On December 22, Fico made a working trip to Russia. President Vladimir Putin received him in the Kremlin in private. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Fico since 2016. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they discussed relations between Moscow and Bratislava, which had deteriorated under Slovakia's previous leadership, as well as energy and gas.

Fico is not the sole European politician who is in favor of contacts with Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. In July 2024, Hungary's prime minister visited Moscow.

On December 11, in a telephone conversation with Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed a ceasefire and a major prisoner-of-war exchange between Russia and Ukraine over Christmas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a telephone conversation with Putin on November 15. Each time Kiev reacted with sharp criticism and rejected mediation.