diff --git a/bots/pr/src/main/java/org/openjdk/skara/bots/pr/CommitCommentsWorkItem.java b/bots/pr/src/main/java/org/openjdk/skara/bots/pr/CommitCommentsWorkItem.java
index 2cc322e04..2c77c9708 100644
--- a/bots/pr/src/main/java/org/openjdk/skara/bots/pr/CommitCommentsWorkItem.java
+++ b/bots/pr/src/main/java/org/openjdk/skara/bots/pr/CommitCommentsWorkItem.java
@@ -72,7 +72,8 @@ public Collection<WorkItem> run(Path scratchPath) {
                                            .filter(b -> !b.name().startsWith("pr/"))
                                            .collect(Collectors.toList());
             for (var branch : remoteBranches) {
-                localRepo.fetch(bot.repo().url(), branch.name());
+                localRepo.checkout(new Branch(branch.name()));
+                localRepo.merge(new Branch("origin/" + branch.name()), Repository.FastForward.ONLY);
             }
 
             var commitTitleToCommits = new HashMap<String, Set<Hash>>();