Overview
- After a phone call on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico supports Ukraine joining the European Union and will share Slovakia’s accession know‑how.
- Zelenskyy said he invited Fico to Kyiv and accepted an invitation to Bratislava, adding that their teams will set up a meeting soon.
- The European Commission days earlier urged Fico and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić to visit Kyiv on May 9 to show support rather than travel to Moscow.
- Fico has recently tied faster political backing for Ukraine’s EU path to the resumption of oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude to Central Europe.
- EU entry requires years of reforms and unanimous approval by all member states, so Slovak assistance and guidance can build ties but cannot by itself speed Ukraine’s accession.