The leaders of Ukraine and Slovakia are locked in a spiralling dispute over supplies of Russian gas, and can’t even agree on a location to hold further talks.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Robert Fico for face-to-face talks in Kyiv, effectively rejecting a proposal put forward by the Slovak prime minister to resolve an ongoing dispute over Russian gas.
Zelenskyy’s move throws down the gauntlet to Fico, after the pair spent a good few weeks butting heads over the issue, significantly increasing tensions between the two neighbours.
Zelenskyy refused to renew a long-term transit contract between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine which expired at the end of 2024, given the ongoing war. “We won’t allow them to earn additional billions on our blood,” he said in mid-December.
Zelenskyy also ruled out the transit of gas from Azerbaijan, which he said could also be used by Moscow to keep business running, unless payments were suspended until the conclusion of the war.
Fico, whose landlocked country relies on imports of cheap Russian gas, in turn described the idea of delaying payments as “absurd” and warned of “enormous economic damage” ahead.
“What kind of fool would give us gas for free?,” Fico said in December.
The European Commission, keen to stop Russia funding its war economy via fossil fuel sales, has implicitly supported Kyiv’s decision, saying it had “no interest in the continuation of Russian gas transit via Ukraine.”
The feud between the two escalated after Fico travelled to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. An earlier July visit by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán triggered a significant backlash.
Last week, Fico flew to Brussels for talks with the Commission, which yielded no breakthrough.
In a subsequent press conference, the Slovak threatened potential retaliation against Zelenskyy, including cutting off electricity supplies to Ukraine, withdrawing humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees and vetoing EU decisions intended to help Kyiv.
“Some may say that it is cruel what I am saying now, but it is also cruel what Zelenskyy is doing to us and what he is doing to the EU,” Fico told reporters.
Later, in a social media post, Zelenskyy poked fun at a recent luxury holiday Fico made to Vietnam, previously revealed in Slovak media, and said the attempt to engage with Putin was a “losing bet”.
“It was an obvious mistake for Fico to believe that his shadowy schemes with Moscow could go on indefinitely,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Now, he’s resorting to PR, lies, and loud accusations to shift the blame away.”
On Monday, Fico invited Zelenskyy to a meeting near the Ukrainian border in Slovakia, to discuss technical solutions to the dispute “as soon as possible”.
“Your decision to stop gas transit through Ukraine towards Slovakia and other consumers is causing enormous damage to Ukraine itself, Slovakia and especially the European Union. It is provoking diverse reactions, which does not contribute to either bilateral or multilateral relations,” Fico wrote.
“I do not intend to respond to your statement from Sunday … because I do not intend to further escalate tensions,” he said, referring to Zelenskyy’s mordant post.
However, the Ukrainian leader appeared unimpressed by that proposal, writing on X: “OK. Come to Kyiv on Friday”.
Though Fico has not yet responded to that succinct offer, the deputy speaker of the Slovakian Parliament has told Russian media Fico’s visit to Kyiv was “not possible” and would “not happen”.
Euronews has reached out to Fico’s office for comment.
