Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico launched a scathing attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of roaming Europe and engaging in “begging and blackmailing” – something that must stop.
– I’m not here to hold hands with Zelensky, and I’ll admit, I’m sick of him sometimes. He roams Europe begging and blackmailing, asking others for money… This needs to stop, the Slovak declared in Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Friday.
The outspoken Fico has long been highly critical of the West’s almost unlimited support for Kiev, pointing out that Ukraine is not capable of defeating Russia on the battlefield and must instead seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Shortly after taking office in 2023, Fico also halted military aid to Ukraine and promised to veto the country’s potential accession to NATO, and he has also offered to host peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.
“Slovakia is not at war”
Slovak-Ukrainian relations deteriorated sharply when Kiev refused to extend its transit agreement with Russia’s Gazprom after it expired at the end of the year, effectively cutting off the flow of Russian natural gas to EU countries such as Austria, Italy and Slovakia.
Slovakia, which has no coastline of its own, is said to be particularly dependent on Russian gas, which has previously met around 60% of its total demand. Fico has demanded compensation from Kiev and promised countermeasures, possibly by cutting off electricity supplies and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
– Neither Slovakia nor the EU is at war, we have no reason to tolerate Zelensky’s adventures, especially looking at the aid Slovakia and the EU are providing to Ukraine, the Prime Minister said in a speech earlier this week.
Warned of World War III
On Thursday, Fico also met with EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen to discuss the situation and how to resolve it.
– We have a bloody serious problem, the Slovak leader stated before the meeting.
The Nordic Times has previously reported how Robert Fico warned that the war in Ukraine risks escalating into a third world war.
– In reality, Ukraine is only being used for geopolitical purposes to weaken Russia both economically and internationally. I fear that, in the name of these geopolitical goals, the West will continue to fight with Russia until the last Ukrainian soldier, and we are not far from that, he said.