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Slovak Prime Minister Fico invites Zelensky to meet near border to discuss gas transit
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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has invited Volodymyr Zelensky to meet on Slovak territory near the border with Ukraine to discuss the issue of Russian gas transit. In a Facebook post on Monday, Fico argued that Slovakia has “demonstrated and continues to demonstrate significant solidarity with your citizens,” including Ukrainian refugees. The Slovak prime minister also stressed that Kyiv’s decision to halt the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine has cost the Slovak Republic “approximately 500 million euros annually” and “critically” undermines the competitiveness of the European Union, “a union whose membership Ukraine seeks.”
Before Ukraine’s transit contract with Gazprom expired on January 1, 2025, Russian gas flowed to three E.U. member states: Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary. “This decision has provoked various reactions, which do not contribute positively to bilateral or multilateral relations,” Fico explained.
In a response shared on X, Zelensky rejected Fico’s invitation and countered by inviting Fico to Kyiv instead.
Ok. Come to Kyiv on Friday. pic.twitter.com/9lOSLCR7FD
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 13, 2025
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president accused Fico of spreading “lies and accusations” against Ukraine. “We offered our assistance to the people of Slovakia during their adaptation to the absence of Russian gas transit, but Fico arrogantly refused,” Zelensky said on social media.
In late December, Fico visited Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, describing the trip as a “response” to Zelensky’s gas transit policies. For months, Fico and Zelensky have sparred publicly as Kyiv repeated that it wouldn’t renew its contract with Gazprom in 2025. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities have expressed their readiness to facilitate gas transit from other countries. After Kyiv halted Russian gas deliveries, Fico also threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine and reduce support for Ukrainian refugees.
More on Fico’s past Ukraine rhetoric
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