A group of pro-government Slovak lawmakers plans to visit Moscow later this month to improve "dialogue" with Russia, according to Andrej Danko, the leader of the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS).
Danko, who will join the delegation, confirmed the trip to the Slovak news agency TASR on January 5.
Danko, a nationalist who supports closer ties with Russia and serves as the deputy speaker of Slovakia's parliament, announced his intention to visit Russia in December. This follows Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow weeks earlier.
Fico’s government has been vocal in its opposition to military aid for Ukraine and critical of sanctions against Russia.
Recently, Slovakia threatened to stop energy and humanitarian aid to Ukraine after Kyiv decided not to renew a deal for Russian gas to pass through Ukrainian pipelines, which supplies Slovakia and other EU countries.
"We want to understand some positions, discuss laws, and rebuild certain ties with Russia," Danko said, presenting the visit as a continuation of Fico's Moscow trip on December 22.
The six-member delegation, made up of lawmakers from Danko’s SNS party and Fico’s Smer (Direction) party, will meet with Russian government officials and members of the Russian parliament.
"We want to show people in Slovakia the importance of Russian gas and business connections with Russia," Danko added.
While the EU has been working to reduce reliance on Russian energy since the invasion of Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary still heavily depend on Russian gas.
This trip is not the first by Slovak officials to Russia.
In October 2024, Lubos Blaha, a pro-Russian member of the European Parliament from Fico’s party, visited Moscow. During his trip, he praised Russia as "beautiful and advanced" and called for an end to hostility toward the country.
