diff --git a/src/remote.c b/src/remote.c
index 175786f..b7a6f08 100644
--- a/src/remote.c
+++ b/src/remote.c
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(Remote_fetch__doc__,
 PyObject *
 Remote_fetch(Remote *self, PyObject *args)
 {
-  PyObject* py_stats;
+  PyObject* py_stats = NULL;
   const git_transfer_progress *stats;
   int err;