Bavarian leader Markus Söder used a visit by Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday to push for the country to maintain a pro-European stance, amid widespread criticism within the bloc over Bratislava’s position on Ukraine.
Fico’s recently announced plan to visit to Ukraine is seen as a positive sign in Munich, a spokesman for the Bavarian government said.
He is considered the most Russia-friendly leader within the EU since Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was ousted in parliamentary elections last month.
For months, Hungary and Slovakia blocked a massive EU loan for Kiev over accusations that Ukraine had deliberately interrupted the flow of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline.
Kiev maintains that the pipeline was damaged by Russian attacks. Following Orbán’s election defeat, oil flow through the pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia resumed, with Ukraine saying repairs had been completed.
Fico has also seen severe opposition over his stance on Ukraine at home, with thousands taking to the streets across Slovakia a year ago when he travelled to Moscow to attend Russia’s annual Victory Day celebration commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.
The Slovakian is expected to attend the festivities in Moscow again on Saturday. However, he was also due to visit the former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau near Munich later on Thursday to mark the end of World War II, in what appears to be an attempt to appease critics.
As the leader of the Christian Social Union, the Bavaria-only sister party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats, Söder also plays an influential role in Germany’s national government.