Fico will meet with Zelenskyy after talks with Putin
Photo: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Getty Images)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that he has a scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, September 5, according to a video address by the Slovak Prime Minister.
Fico said that he is traveling to Beijing for talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is there on a four-day visit.
"After returning from Beijing on Thursday evening, I will go to eastern Slovakia to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday," he said.
However, the Slovak Prime Minister did not provide any details about the meeting with the Ukrainian president.
Putin to meet Fico in China
Fico is one of the few EU leaders who, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has maintained regular contact with Putin.
As Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov clarified, the meeting was "planned," but the details of the topics to be discussed and the exact date have not been disclosed.
The Slovak Prime Minister plans to visit Beijing on Wednesday, September 3, for a parade marking the end of the Asian theater of World War II. At the same time, Putin will be in Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and is expected to take a seat next to Chinese President Xi Jinping at the parade in Beijing.
Relations between Ukraine and Slovakia
Relations between Ukraine and Slovakia have recently become tense. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has made several statements opposing the provision of military aid to Ukraine and its accession to the EU and NATO.
The situation escalated when Ukraine decided not to continue the transit of Russian gas to Europe, on which Slovakia and Hungary depend.
