Fico says Czechia has ‘interest’ in supporting Ukraine war, after Prague burns bridge

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has dismissed Czechia’s decision to suspend intergovernmental consultations due to Bratislava’s apparent pro-Russian stances by claiming they ‘just want peace’ while accusing Prague of having an ‘interest’ in supporting the war in Ukraine.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced the decision to suspend intergovernmental cooperation on Wednesday over what Prague considers significant differences on foreign policy issues regarding the Russian war in Ukraine.

Fico responded to the news in a Facebook video addressed to Fiala personally, emphasising the depth of the Czech-Slovak relations, which Bratislava “would not dare to put in danger”.

“We note that the Czech government has decided to jeopardise them because it has an interest in supporting the war in Ukraine, while the Slovak government talks about peace. Your decision will not affect our sovereign policy,” the Slovak prime minister said, adding that Fiala’s government remains always welcomed in Slovakia.

Fiala made headlines across Europe with the announcement, the culmination of increasingly frosty relations in recent months and weeks.

“Cooperation with Slovakia is important, and it is in our interest to have the best possible relations. However, it is not possible to ignore fundamental differences of opinion on key foreign policy issues, such as the meeting between the Slovak foreign minister and the foreign minister of the Russian Federation,” Fiala (ODS) wrote on X on Wednesday.

“We, therefore, do not consider it appropriate to hold intergovernmental consultations with the Slovak government in the coming weeks. We have decided to postpone the planned negotiations, about which we have already informed the Slovak side,” the prime minister added.

Last November, Fiala and Fico agreed to continue regular intergovernmental consultations, the next round of which was scheduled for this spring.

While falling short of denying pro-Russian sympathies, Fico’s justification of his government’s foreign policy decisions, stating it is just a bid for peace, is not backed up by recent events.

Slovakia has since shown increasing closeness with Russia, and on Saturday, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár met with Russian diplomacy chief Sergei Lavrov at a conference in Turkey.

Slovak foreign minister Blanar meets with Russia's Lavrov in Turkey

A senior member of Slovakia’s government met his Russian counterpart on Saturday (2 March) in a rare high-level encounter between a European Union member state and a country the EU has sought to isolate.

Pro-Russian positions were voiced not only by Blanár but also by Fico, who recently said the West does not support peace in Ukraine and demonises Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While Czechia has steadfastly supported Ukraine, including recently persuading various EU states to send hundreds of thousands of shells to Kyiv, Fico pledged during his recent election campaign “not to send another bullet to Ukraine”. He also made waves when he asked Ukraine to give up its territory to the invading Russian forces to stop the war.

Reactions in Bratislava

Ivan Korčok, former Slovak foreign minister and a presidential candidate, reacted to the news, describing the situation as “unprecedented“ but understandable:

“The Slovak side bears full responsibility for the deterioration of relations with the Czech Republic. The government of Robert Fico is leading Slovakia into isolation, burning bridges with its neighbours, getting rid of allies, and seriously damaging national interests,” Korčok stated on Instagram.

Pro-Western senior diplomat Korčok is currently the main opponent of Fico’s coalition partner, Peter Pellegrini, in the Slovak presidential election.

Current polls suggest that Pellegrini would likely win the race in the second round (6 April), but the gap between him and Korčok is gradually shrinking.

Michal Šimečka, leader of liberal Progressive Slovakia (PS), reacted similarly, saying that due to Fico’s actions, Slovakia is slowly becoming “a black hole” of Europe.

“It is a huge disgrace and damage to our mutual relations. In real terms, this is probably the worst moment since the formation of the independent republics (of Czechia and Slovakia).”

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz, Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk – edited by Nathalie Weatherald, Alice Taylor)

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