Russian President Vladimir Putin positively assessed the 'independent policies' of pro-Russian European leaders, including those from Slovakia and Serbia, during a meeting in China on the 2nd.
According to TASS and RIA Novosti, President Putin held talks in Beijing with Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. These pro-Russian leaders in Europe visited Beijing to attend the 80th anniversary parade of China's victory day on the 3rd, which the West boycotted.
They also attended Russia's victory day parade marking the 80th anniversary held in Moscow on the 9th. Prime Minister Fico is also the only head of a European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member state attending this event. President Putin noted that he values the 'independent foreign policy' pursued by Prime Minister Fico as 'very precious.'
Despite Europe's sanctions against Russia, Prime Minister Fico mentioned that the amount of Russian natural gas Slovakia receives through the TurkStream gas pipeline has increased to an annual level of 4 billion cubic meters, saying, 'We would like to cooperate more in the energy institutional sector. We are interested in the supply of Russian gas and oil.'
He also suggested that Slovakia is in contact with the U.S. company Westinghouse to construct a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1,100 megawatts, stating, 'Since all reactors owned by Slovakia are either Russian or Soviet-made, I would be pleased if cooperation between Russia and the U.S. could take place in this sector.'
Prime Minister Fico, who is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the 5th, also indicated his willingness to mediate between the opposing Russia and Europe. He assessed that the meeting between President Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held in Alaska on the 15th of last month was a 'significant advancement' and sought permission from European leaders to relay President Putin's message.