Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold talks in the in western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, 5 September 2025. Photo: EPA / PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has reiterated his country’s support for Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union, just days after he met Vladimir Putin in Beijing, Slovakian independent news outlet Aktuality reported on Friday.
Fico’s comments came after he traveled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, where the pair also discussed energy policy, Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, and European defence policy.
“I want Ukraine to join the EU. I have offered to share our experience in accession talks,” Fico said at a press conference after the meeting, Aktuality reported.
Thanking Fico on Telegram for what he described as a “meaningful conversation,” Zelensky emphasised the importance of Slovakia’s support for Ukraine’s EU membership and noted that energy independence and European security were two areas in which the two countries could potentially cooperate in the future.
While united on Ukraine’s EU aspirations, Kyiv and Bratislava’s differences became clearer during the press conference, with Zelensky flatly stating that he had turned down Fico’s request that Ukraine stop attacking Russian oil and gas facilities that supply energy to Slovakia.
“We are ready to supply gas and oil to Slovakia, as long as it is not Russian gas or Russian oil. That’s it,” Zelensky said.
“On energy … we really do have diametrically different points of view,” Fico said during the press conference, adding that while he respected Zelensky’s point of view, he also expected Zelensky to respect his.
Fico was the only EU leader to attend a military parade hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, ostensibly marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, but widely seen as a projection of Chinese military might and political influence.
Following a meeting with Putin in Beijing the day before the parade, Fico spoke warmly of Russia’s energy exports to Slovakia at a joint press conference, and floated possible Russian support for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Slovakia, according to Czech news outlet Idnes.
In December, Fico, who is widely seen as sympathetic to the Kremlin, became only the third EU leader to meet with Putin in Russia since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in April 2022 and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in July 2024.