President Volodymyr Zelensky met Slovak President Zuzana Caputova during the latter's visit to Kyiv on May 10.
Zelensky thanked Caputova "for her determination and moral leadership shown in the face of the full-scale Russian invasion, as well as for supporting the Ukrainian peace formula," the Presidential Office said.
Slovakia's pro-Western head of state has been at odds with the Ukraine-skeptic Slovak government of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Caputova will conclude her term in June when she will be replaced by Fico's ally, President-elect Peter Pellegrini.
"We appreciate that thanks to cooperation, relations between our states have become the most meaningful since 1991," Zelensky said when meeting Caputova.
"First of all, it's defense cooperation with Slovakia and political interaction, especially at the level of the European Union."
The two leaders discussed the situation at the front and Russia's plans. During their joint press briefing, Zelensky announced that Moscow launched new offensive operations in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast.
Caputova noted that from the first day of Russia's full-scale war, Slovakia sheltered Ukrainian refugees and was one of the first countries to provide military assistance to Kyiv.
"This tragedy must be stopped. The entire civilized world must be involved. Only a just peace is acceptable," Caputova said.
Bratislava provided several key capabilities to Ukraine in the first two years of the full-scale war, including Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. The country's foreign policy took a turn after Fico, a vocal critic of military aid to Ukraine, assumed office as the prime minister in the autumn of 2023.
Kateryna Hodunova
