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Fico, the Prime Minister, says that Slovakia wants to normalise its relations with Russia by increasing gas imports.

Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, told Vladimir Putin that Russia wants to normalise relations with Slovakia and will increase imports of Russian natural gas via TurkStream.

These comments were in direct conflict with the European Union's position, which seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian energy to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine 2022. They also come at a crucial time in the efforts to end this conflict.

Both Slovakia and Hungary, both EU member states, are led by populists who have maintained political ties with Russia which supplies most of their oil requirements.

Fico told Putin during their meeting in Beijing, on the sidelines China's World War Two Anniversary celebrations.

He added, "Let us get back to the old ways of countries in terms of economic cooperation."

The EU has pledged to end decades-old relations with Moscow, its former largest gas supplier. It aims to eliminate all Russian energy imports before the end of 2027.

Hungary and Slovakia oppose this plan. They claim that switching to alternative energy sources would raise the price of energy.

Fico thanked Putin for the regular and safe gas supply that the two of them receive via TurkStream.

TurkStream is the only pipeline that carries Russian gas into Europe, after blasts forced the Nord Stream 1 pipelines to stop exports in September 2022. Transit via Ukraine also ceased on January 1, 2019.

According to data provided by the Slovak transit firm EUstream, Slovakia imported approximately 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas this year through Hungary. This is its closest link to TurkStream.

The project aims to increase the capacity of the gas flowing from Hungary to Slovakia (including gas from the Turkstream pipeline) to 4.4 Bcm, from 3.5 Bcm.

Fico said Slovakia has resumed the issuing of visas to Russians, a service which was suspended after Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

He also said that Slovakia is interested in Russian firms potentially participating in the new nuclear power plants, which the government hopes to award to U.S. company Westinghouse.

Fico is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Uzhhorod on Friday, according to the official. This meeting was originally scheduled to be held in eastern Slovakia.

The Prime Minister said that he would raise the recent Ukrainian attacks which temporarily stopped Russian Oil flowing through the Druzhba Pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary during the past two weeks.

(source: Reuters)