Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he called the Slovak Prime Minister on Saturday and invited him to Kiev. The discussion between the two took place a week before Robert Fico's trip to the Russian capital for the May 9 Victory Day parade, according to The Kyiv Independent.
The relationship between Zelenski and Fico has been marked by tensions, including due to problems related to the transit of Russian oil through the Ukrainian section of the Drujba pipeline, and the prime minister of Slovakia became, last year, also on the occasion of Victory Day, the first European leader to travel to Moscow since the war in Ukraine began.
Even so, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine and Slovakia must have “strong relations” and that he and Robert Fico should have a face-to-face meeting soon.
The two extended mutual invitations and agreed to meet in Kiev or Bratislava, and the Slovak leader reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine's accession to the European Union, according to the Kyiv Post.
“It was important to hear that Slovakia supports Ukraine's accession to the European Union and is ready to share its experience on EU accession,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media.
Fico turned down an invitation to go to Kyiv last year
The president of Ukraine had invited the prime minister of Slovakia to Kiev in the first part of last year as well, but Fico refused the invitation. He has not been to the Ukrainian capital since taking office in 2023, but met with Zelenskiy in Uzhhorod, Transcarpathia, in September 2025.
Throughout the winter and early spring, Fico and his ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who lost an election in April, threatened to halt emergency electricity exports to Ukraine.
The two accused Kiev of deliberately stopping the transit of Russian oil through the Drujba pipeline, which the Ukrainian side said was closed due to damage caused by a Russian attack.
Slovakia blocked the European Union's 20th sanctions package against Russia, but lifted its veto on April 22 after operations at the Drujba pipeline resumed.
