Heger: Zelenskyy Officially Asked Slovakia for MiG-29 Fighters

Brussels, February 9 (TASR-correspondent) - At a meeting with interim Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) during the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially requested Slovakia to supply MiG-29 fighters to defend against the Russian aggression, TASR learnt on Thursday. Heger responded that Slovakia will do its best to comply with this request. At the extraordinary EU summit, Zelenskyy was given four rounds of direct talks with prime ministers and presidents, who were divided into four groups. Heger was in a group with representatives of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Latvia. According to Heger, Zelenskyy informed them about the current situation in Ukraine, saying that they expect the Russian offensive to intensify in the coming weeks. "He [Zelenskyy] asked for broad assistance and approached us about the MiG-29 aircraft. I told him that we'll talk about it at home and the public will be informed of the outcome of these negotiations," he stated, adding that it will also be necessary to negotiate with Kiev about other specifications and the possible transfer of this military equipment. The third will be negotiations at the European level, because MiG-29 aircraft would be supplied by Slovakia within the EU mechanism, which reimburses the supply of military equipment to Ukraine. According to Heger, any aid in favour of Ukraine is in the national interest of Slovakia and in the interest of European security. am/mcs