Putin tells Fico: Russia will meet Slovakia's energy demand

President Vladimir Putin told Slovakian Prime Minister ​Robert Fico at a meeting in ‌the Kremlin on Saturday that Russia will do everything to meet Slovakia's energy demand, Reuters reported.

Slovakia is among ​only a few countries in Europe ​that are still buying Russia's oil ⁠and gas. Slovakia gets Russian oil via ​the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, while natural gas ​from Russia flows there through the TurkStream pipeline.

Fico arrived in Moscow for the festivities to mark the ​Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany ​in World War Two.

"We will do everything to satisfy ‌Slovakia's ⁠needs in energy resources," Putin told Fico, who chose not to attend the Victory Parade on Moscow's Red Square, in comments broadcast ​on national ​TV.

Russian state ⁠media had previously reported that Fico was due to attend the parade.

Slovakia, ​an EU member, has sought to ​maintain ⁠political ties with Russia and has argued that it would be too costly to wean ⁠itself ​off Russian supplies after ​building its infrastructure around it.