Slovakia/Ukraine – Before Rober Fico’s return to power in Slovakia, Bratislava was perfectly in line with the demands of Kiev and Brussels regarding military and financial support for Ukraine. The situation has now changed, although the two countries continue to cooperate.

Robert Fico against the delivery of arms to Kiev

The new Slovak prime minister made this one of his campaign arguments: he does not support the delivery of military equipment to Kiev. In his view, supplying more and more weapons would delay the peace negotiations for which he has been calling for months.

Fico’s positions are close to those of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, both on the supply of arms to Ukraine, which he opposes and which he has just suspended, and on the relocation of migrants sought by the EU, as well as the proposed reform of the European treaties involving, among other things, the abolition of the right of veto in the European Council in certain areas that are key to the sovereignty of EU Member States.

Towards a new framework for cooperation between Bratislava and Kiev

On 4 December, Robert Fico had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to set the priorities for their bilateral cooperation.

Denys Shmyhal and Robert Fico charted priority directions in their first conversation since Fico took office, focusing on key areas such as rebuilding, energy ties, and border crossings.

„We are counting on the participation of Slovak companies in various areas of Ukraine’s recovery,” Shmyhal stated.

The question of support for Ukraine

During this exchange, Robert Fico gave his vision of the support that Slovakia will provide to Ukraine, which will include humanitarian aid as well as the supply of electricity by Slovak companies.

However, a stumbling block was revealed between Kiev and Bratislava, concerning the unfair competition between Ukrainian lorry drivers and their Central European counterparts. A situation that is raising a lot of unhappiness in Slovakia, but also in Poland and Hungary.

Aware of the problem, the Ukrainian authorities are working on a solution. „It was noted that the transit of priority cargo is carried out unhindered. We expect to sign an intergovernmental agreement on control at joint checkpoints in the near future,” Shmyhal said.