MOSCOW, November 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold talks with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico who is arriving in Russia on a working visit on Monday, the government said Sunday.

The talks will consider practical issues of bilateral ties, including the trade, economic and technology spheres as well as enhancing political dialogue.

Russia is Slovakia's third largest trade and economic partner after Germany and the Czech Republic. Over the past five years, bilateral trade grew 230% to reach a record $9.6 billion in 2008.

One of the key spheres of Russia-Slovakia cooperation is energy. Slovakia's oil, gas and nuclear fuel demands are fully covered by Russian deliveries on the basis of long-term contracts.

Slovakia is also an important transit country for Russian energy carriers. It transports over 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas designed for Europe annually.