By Natália Silenská | Euractiv Est. 3min 24-01-2024 (updated: 25-01-2024 ) Content-Type: News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A handout photo made available by the Slovakia's Prime Minister's Office shows Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (2-R) and Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico (2-L) meeting in the Western-Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, Ukraine, 24 January 2024. [EPA-EFE/Lubos Bilacic/Slovakia's Prime Minister's Office HANDOUT] Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico assured him that Bratislava will continue to support Ukraine’s accession to the EU and will not block €50 billion in EU financial aid, despite Fico’s previous harsh rhetoric towards Kyiv. The meeting between the Slovak and Ukrainian prime ministers on Wednesday (24 January) came after several statements by Fico that cast doubt on Bratislava’s willingness to support Ukraine as he declared that Ukraine was “not a sovereign nation” and insisted that “it must give up part of its territory to Russia”. In a final document signed by the two prime ministers in the border town of Uzhhorod, however, Fico took the opposite approach, stating that both countries are ready for further cooperation aimed at restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. The joint document also states that Slovakia will continue to support Ukraine’s integration and participate in its reconstruction. “Despite the disagreement, we intend to form a policy of ‘new pragmatism’ with the government of Slovakia, which will benefit both states. I am sure that today’s meeting with Prime Minister Fico will open a new page in our relations,” Shmyhal commented. Shmyhal confirmed that Fico had assured him of Slovakia’s continued support for his country’s EU membership bid, as well as a €50 billion financial package from the EU. According to the Ukrainian prime minister, Fico does not intend to hinder commercial arms supplies either. Ukrainian fears The Ukrainian authorities had been worried about the meeting given the Slovak prime minister’s harsh rethoric against Kyiv. The day before arriving in Ukraine (23 January), asked by a Slovak journalist why he was not meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv, Fico snapped: “Do you really think there is a war in Kyiv? Are you kidding me? Just go there and you will see, people are living absolutely normal lives there.” His statement came after Russia launched another missile attack on Ukraine the same day, and he faced an air raid during his visit to Uzhhorod, at the western Slovak-Ukrainian border. Fico’s controversial rhetoric raised questions about whether the meeting should take place at all. Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Merezhko even called for the visit to be cancelled. Ukrainian analyst Dmytro Tuzhansky told Denník N that relations between Kyiv and Bratislava do not need to be friendly, but some form of communication is needed and cancelling the meeting would lead to a diplomatic faux pas. [Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic] Read more with Euractiv How Russia's 'shadow war' could impact Moldova's pro-EU pollsRussia’s “hybrid warfare” against Moldova is expected to increase in intensity through 2024, focusing on Moldova’s planned constitutional referendum on joining the EU expected to happen in November.
