EU Summit: Fico Disagrees with Zelenskyy on Gas Transit and NATO Membership (2)

Brussels/Bratislava, December 20 (TASR-correspondent) - Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) disagreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on five fundamental issues during Thursday's EU summit, TASR learnt from its special correspondent in Brussels on Friday. Fico stated that he understands that the Ukrainian President is under pressure due to the situation in his country, but underlined that he didn't expect private statements made behind the closed doors to be disclosed to the public. The Slovak Prime Minister responded this way to the fact that at his post-summit press briefing, Zelenskyy mentioned Fico and stated that it's reprehensible that Fico talks about Slovakia due to lose its profits from the transit of Russian gas once Ukraine will shut down the gas pipeline on its soil. Zelenskyy accentuated that it is also the gas money that Russia earns from this trade that help finance the war and cause the suffering and loss of life in Ukraine. "Our exchange of views confirmed that we have different opinions on five issues," said Fico. He pointed out that since the very beginning of the war, the Slovak government called the invasion by Russian troops a breach of the international law, has helped Ukraine with humanitarian supplies and sold it the necessary electricity, sent the first train to Kiev, but doesn't believe in a military solution to the conflict and refuses to gift weapons to the country. The Prime Minister claimed that not everyone liked his words about the necessity of seeking peace initiatives and his opinion that the EU should embrace also the Chinese and Brazilian initiatives as well as the formation of the friends of peace group in the UN. The response to this at the summit was that those who are friends of peace are friends of the aggressor, recalled Fico. "Zelenskyy rejects any kind of truce," averred Fico, adding that this stance is also shared by many EU countries. On behalf of Slovakia, Fico rejects the option that Europeans should bear higher costs of the aid for Ukraine if new US president Donald Trump decides to scale down the US aid for Kiev. Fico reiterated that no Slovak soldier will ever be part of the EU operation in Ukraine in case a truce is concluded. "It wouldn't be right if some part of EU states did that; there would be no consensus," he explained. "We have a disagreement regarding the transit of gas via Ukraine. I asked him whether he'd be willing to transit any other gas than Russian," said Fico and added that Zelenskyy ruled out the transit of any gas. "He asked me whether we can imagine paying for the gas that finances the war," stated Fico. Another dispute revolves around Ukraine's joining of NATO. Fico averred that Zelenskyy had promised him €500 million worth of frozen Russian assets if Slovakia changes its stance. "Never," Fico sent him a message through the media. "We respect the EU aid to Ukraine, we're part of it, and that's why I'm asking whether Ukraine has the right to jeopardise economic interests of an EU member that helps and organises joint sessions of the governments," claimed Fico. Fico discussed these issues separately also with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and German chancellor Olaf Scholz and warned them that if Kiev stops the gas transits, the price of the commodity will ratchet up. In Fico's view, it's necessary to exert pressure on the European Commission to start protecting interests of the EU members because "if someone blocks the transit of gas and will cause price hikes and economic damages to the EU, it's Zelenskyy". mf