Russia’s diplomacy
Putin congratulates Orban, Fico and Schröder on the New Year
Updated 12/30/2024 – 4:32 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Shortly before the New Year, Kremlin leader Putin deliberately ignored Western governments when sending congratulations – with a few notable exceptions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored Western leaders when sending his New Year’s congratulations – with the exception of the Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Viktor Orban and Robert Fico. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is the only former Western head of government on the recipient list of congratulatory telegrams that the Kremlin published on its website. Fico is not on the list, but Putin also congratulated him, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed.
According to Moscow, Hungary and Slovakia are characterized by their rejection of “Russophobic politics”. Both countries are heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies. Both Orban and Fico visited Putin after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by the Kremlin chief. They criticize the EU’s arms aid for the attacked Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, but have largely supported them so far.
A verbal skirmish recently broke out between Fico and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over Kiev’s refusal to extend the gas transit contract with Russia, which expires at the end of the year. Fico threatened to stop electricity supplies to Ukraine, and his Defense Minister Robert Kalinak called on Kiev to cede territory to Russia in order to achieve peace. Zelensky, for his part, described Fico as a Kremlin stooge.
