Fico: Participation of EU officials at the summit in Paris undermines trust within the Union

Bratislava – Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico spoke by phone on Monday with the President of the European Council António Costa, asking mainly about the circumstances of today’s meeting of EU leaders and several European countries in Paris. The French capital will host talks on Monday afternoon about US President Donald Trump’s plans to end the war in Ukraine. This was reported by TASR based on a statement from the Press Department of the Slovak Government Office.

The informal extraordinary meeting was convened by French President Emmanuel Macron and only some European countries received an invitation. Leaders of Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, which represents the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, are expected to attend the meeting. Costa, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be present.

In the phone call, Fico asked Costa why, as the top EU representative, he accepted the invitation to the meeting, “which is supposed to address the issue of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory as a security guarantee for Ukraine after the end of the war conflict and its rejection of NATO membership.” The Slovak Prime Minister considers the participation of the top EU representatives in such a meeting without any mandate as an event that “does not promote trust within the EU.”

According to Fico, the EU does not have the authority to make decisions about the presence of foreign troops on another country’s territory, and such a step is only possible based on decisions by the relevant UN bodies or bilateral agreements between Ukraine and countries willing to deploy troops on its territory. Fico emphasized that he respects the meeting of states willing to send troops to Ukraine “without any reservations. However, this is a topic with which the EU has nothing to do and should not be associated with.”

The Prime Minister also reiterated that he will never agree to Ukraine’s NATO membership and that Slovakia will not send any armed forces to Ukrainian territory. He also emphasized that he has long opposed the continuation of the war and recalled his past statement that Ukraine “will lose part of its territory, will not be in NATO, its territory will be controlled by foreign armies,” and obstacles will be placed on its entry into the EU, which Slovakia “unconditionally supports.” (February 17)

“(Costa) respects without any reservations the meeting of states willing to send troops to Ukraine. However, this is a topic with which the EU has nothing to do and should not be associated with.” Robert Fico