Fico skips Ukraine visit despite announcing trip a day earlier
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Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico (Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico did not attend the inaugural Carpathian Eight summit in Ukraine on Sept. 18 despite publicly announcing the previous day that he planned to make the trip.
European Pravda initially reported Fico’s absence, citing sources and footage released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the summit in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
Slovak media later reported that Fico canceled the visit because of illness. Slovakia is instead being represented at the summit by Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok.
Fico had said on Sept. 17 that he intended to travel to Ukraine and meet Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had also planned talks with Fico on the sidelines of the summit.
During his remarks the day before the scheduled trip, Fico reiterated that Slovakia values its NATO membership and alliance commitments but said he would seek to prevent the country from becoming involved in a military conflict.
He said he did not want war to reach Slovakia because of “some Article 5,” referring to NATO’s collective defense clause.
Carpathian Eight holds first summit
The Sept. 18-20 gathering in Ukraine’s Carpathian region is the first summit of the Carpathian Initiative, launched by Zelenskyy as a new regional cooperation format.
Zelenskyy announced the creation of the C8, or Carpathian Eight, at the summit on Sept. 18.
“Today, for the first time, here in Ukraine, in our part of the Carpathians, we are holding a summit that brings together all the Carpathian states, regions and communities of our countries,” Zelenskyy said.
The initiative brings together Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, with cooperation also involving the European Union.
Zelenskyy first announced plans for the initiative in August, saying it was designed to create a framework for countries that may differ in their willingness to provide military support but remain interested in cooperation on security, humanitarian issues, economic development and Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“Not all countries are ready to strengthen us with weapons, but they want to stand together with us in humanitarian affairs, security and the economy,” Zelenskyy said at the time.
The new format is expected to focus on regional security, energy, infrastructure, economic cooperation and cross-border development.
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