A press conference will take place at the railway station in Uzhhorod today at 16:20 local time (15:20 CEST) after the meeting of Prime Minister Robert Fico and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. They should negotiate approximately two hours.
The Slovak Prime Minister will officially meet President of Ukraine for the first time. While both were already at the European Union summit in Brussels in October 2024, according to Robert Fico, it was only “for 15 seconds” during photography.
The Prime Minister has not been in Kiev so far, and the joint negotiations of the governments were held at Uzhhorod and in Slovakia in Michalovce. His predecessors met Volodymyr Greeny several times.
As Prime Minister, Eduard Heger met twice with the Ukrainian president in April 2022 and again in March 2023, in both cases it was in Kiev. During his first visit he also visited the town of Buča and met with the then Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Šmyhal. His successor, Ľudovít ódor, also met Volodymyr Greeny twice – at a summit in Moldova and the second time during the official visit of President Ukraine in Bratislava in July 2023.
Robert Fico has since joined his office three times with Russian President Vladimir Putin, twice in Moscow and last this week on September 2 in China.
Carries a serious message
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized the attacks of Ukraine on energy infrastructure on Tuesday at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. At the same time, he confirmed that he wants to discuss this issue with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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“We are very sharply responding to the attacks on oil infrastructure,” Fico said. “I should meet on Friday (today) in Uzhgorod with the President of Ukraine and I will be very seriously opening this question, because it is not possible for an infrastructure that is vital to Slovakia in this way,” the Prime Minister continued.
“Mr. Zelenskyj has primarily asked for this interview and that he understood that EU membership is about communication and not only deciding as it was decided by the bombing of Druzhba,” said Tibor Gašpar, Vice -President of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, for TV JOJ24.
After almost an hour’s meeting with Vladimir Putin and a subsequent interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovo, the Slovak Prime Minister said that he was carrying a “serious message” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Greenland.
One of the main topics of the Prime Minister meeting with President of Ukraine in Uzhhorod will be energy infrastructure. Robert Fico is also to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Julia Syrydenkova. The Slovak delegation will also include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Denisa Saková and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanár.
Come to Kiev
The Ukrainian President and Slovak Prime Minister have exchanged various references in the past. Last October, Volodymyr Greeny, Slovakia, pointed out that it should help Ukraine, because otherwise he will feel all that the Russian President Vladimir Putin is capable of. He warned that the Kremlin boss would not stop. Robert Fico responded that he could look into the green eyes at any time. It points out that Slovakia helps Ukraine with electricity or gas.
Tense relations showed up earlier this year after Ukraine decided to stop the gas transit through its territory. Robert Fico wrote an open letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Greeny.
“Your decision to stop the gas transit through Ukraine towards Slovakia if it causes another customer to another customer itself, Slovakia and especially the European Union huge damage,” the Prime Minister said in a letter.
He also invited Zelensky to a joint meeting that could be held in Slovakia near the Ukrainian border. He proposed a place near the state borders and pointed out the symbolic possibility of using the direct train connection between Kiev and Košice. “OK, come to Kiev on Friday,” he responded briefly to Fico’s letter Zelenskyj.
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Robert Fico has spoken several times to the address of the Ukrainian President: He said.
Greeding also criticized Fico’s visit to Moscow at the end of the year, which he described as evidence of betting on Russia instead of “united Europe or common sense”.
A better place on the grandstand
At the beginning of May, Volodymyr Genskyj in Prague indirectly criticized Robert Fico. During the meeting with Czech President Peter Paul, he regretted that some European politicians are blocking European efforts of Ukraine. “Not because of the interests of their countries, but only because they want to get a better place on the stands on the Red Square,” said the Ukrainian leader. Fica did not name directly, but the Slovak Prime Minister is the only leader in the EU to attend the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow.
“My meeting with President Greeny has no sense because he hates me. He hates me because I dare to have my own opinion on the war in Ukraine,” said Robert Fico at the end of June 2025.
According to Prime Minister, Ukraine has been missed by Slovakia by EUR 500 million because it stopped the transit of Russian gas. It makes sense to negotiate only with the Ukrainian Prime Minister.
