Zelenskyy Blasts Fico, Accuses Him of Abetting Russia in its Aggression

Kiev/Bratislava, December 23 (TASR) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Monday, writing in his post on X, released also in Slovak, that Robert Fico (Smer-SD) "wants to assist Russia in pushing the American gas and energy resources of other partners away from Europe", which implies that Fico "wants to help Putin earn money to fund the war and weaken Europe", TASR learnt on the same day. The conflict between the Slovak and the Ukrainian leaders intensified last week at a session of the European Council, as Fico announced that he failed to see eye-to-eye with Zelenskyy on five issues of consequence, including Ukrainian's NATO membership and the transit of the Russian gas. Subsequently, Fico met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday (December 22) and claimed that they discussed the situation in Ukraine, options for peaceful solutions and the Slovak-Russian ties, which Fico wishes to restore. "Moscow provides significant discounts to Fico, but Slovakia pays for them," posted Zelenskyy. "Such discounts are not free—payments to Russia are made through sovereignty or murky schemes. This should be a matter of concern for Slovakia's law enforcement and special services." "Details about such financing were revealed during a recent meeting of European leaders in Brussels," wrote Zelenskyy. "Leaders observed that Mr. Fico does not want to participate in the common European work on energy independence or seek replacement for Russian gas." According to the Ukrainian head of state, "Fico even refused compensations to ease the transition period and get rid of dependence, meaning it is not a security issue for him". Zelenskyy added that Fico is "interested specifically in the Russian gas and the matter’s worth is 500 million U.S. dollars per year". Additional profits worth 500 million U.S. dollars come from the oil pipe that runs through the Ukrainian land. "That is why his key goal is to deal with Russia, and this is what benefits him. This is indeed a big security issue — both for Slovakia and the entire Europe. Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow? What is being paid to him, and what does he pay with?" asks Zelenskyy. mf/mcs