Pro-Russian Slovak PM talks to Shmyhal, announces meeting
On Monday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico reported on a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal and announced a meeting in early 2024.
Fico wrote about this on Facebook; later, Shmyhal confirmed the conversation on social media.
In a conversation with Shmyhal, the Slovak prime minister reiterated that Bratislava would not supply Kyiv with weapons "from state warehouses and the army," but was interested in providing assistance in the humanitarian and civilian spheres.
He added that Slovakia "does not believe in a military solution to the conflict in Ukraine, as it will only lead to unnecessary bloodshed without results," and will continue to ban the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.
In addition, Bratislava "supports the European perspective of Ukraine and Moldova, but together with the countries of the Western Balkans," and its position on the revision of the EU budget for 2024-2027, including assistance to Kyiv, has not changed.
"We will meet with Prime Minister Shmyhal on the Slovak-Ukrainian border in early 2024, and the topic of the meeting will be cooperation in the above areas," Fico summarized.
The Ukrainian prime minister also noted that he had discussed the situation on the border with his Slovak counterpart and expressed hope that Ukraine and Slovakia would soon sign an intergovernmental agreement on control at joint checkpoints.
Author - Olena Madiak, 04/12/2023
