Slovakia's Fico claims Ukraine will 'have to pay dearly' ahead of Putin-Trump meeting
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed that Kyiv would "have to pay dearly" due to what he blamed was the West's failure to weaken Russia by using Ukraine, ahead of the scheduled Putin-Trump meeting on Aug. 15.
"Everyone already knows that the conflict has serious roots in recent history, that it has no military solution, everyone already knows that Ukraine's membership in NATO is impossible," Fico claimed on social media, as cited by Slovak media Dnes24.
Fico used an African proverb of "grass" and "elephants" against Ukraine, saying that: "No matter how the elephants' negotiations on Aug. 15 turn out, the grass will suffer - in this case, Ukraine."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry immediately condemned Fico for being "openly offensive rhetoric against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," and warned against using "unfriendly folklore allegories."
"This is frivolity that insults the memory of the dead, the suffering of millions of Ukrainian families, and the sacrifice of those fighting for freedom," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website on Aug. 10.
The tensions between Ukraine and Slovakia, a member of the EU, come as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to meet in Alaska for talks on ending the war in Ukraine on Aug. 15.
CNN earlier reported that Ukraine's participation following the Putin-Trump meeting is not ruled out, but it is so far not named as among the participants of the Alaska summit.
More than three years into the full-scale war, some European countries, including Slovakia and Hungary, have maintained friendly ties with Moscow despite the criticism from Kyiv and other Western alies.
Fico visited Moscow in December 2024 and has been fostering closer ties with Moscow.
