Michal Šimečka, leader of the opposition Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia, PS) party, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Kyiv on Friday (17 January). Šimečka said that the Ukrainian president was interested in good relations and cooperation. PS announced this in a post on Facebook and in a press release.
"Important meeting with President Zelensky. I bring back to Slovakia a clear message from him. Ukraine values our support and is interested in the best relations and cooperation - including in the field of energy supplies. And they are ready to negotiate. This is exactly what I am now calling on (Prime Minister) Robert Fico to do," Michal Šimečka wrote.
In his words, the PS party delegation managed to "reopen the door that Prime Minister Fico so unnecessarily slammed with his aggressive attacks".
PS delegation in Kyiv, Source: Facebook/Progresívne Slovensko
In a post on the social network X, also written in Slovak, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that he "expected one Slovak leader, but met another". He described the meeting with the representatives of the PS party good and the debate as "concrete and constructive".
"Ukraine is grateful to the people of Slovakia for their support. We are ready for an open and mutually beneficial dialogue on all issues, particularly in the energy sector. This dialogue must strengthen our nations—Ukraine and Slovakia—not Moscow," the Ukrainian president wrote.
Friday. Expected one Slovak leader, but met another. I had a good meeting with Slovak parliamentarians, led by @MSimecka. Our discussion was very concrete and constructive.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 17, 2025
Ukraine is grateful to the people of Slovakia for their support. We are ready for an open and mutually… pic.twitter.com/znm2w36jiD
Ukraine is willing to negotiate, former Foreign Affairs minister Ivan Korčok says
According to the PS senior member and former foreign affairs minister Ivan Korčok, the party considered it necessary to come to Kyiv at this time. According to him, the Slovak government "communicates with Ukraine as if it were our enemy". The Ukrainian side, he said, is willing to negotiate, including about the topic of energy supplies.
Tomáš Valášek, PS Vice-Chair and the Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Vice-Chair, said that the fight in Ukraine is about freedom and security of Slovakia and the whole Europe. "It is in our vital interest to support Ukraine, the further Putin's army is from the Slovak borders, the better for the people of Slovakia," he says.
Šimečka visited Kyiv on Friday along with several opposition politicians from the PS party. In addition to Šimečka, Korčok and Valášek, the delegation also included MPs Beata Jurík and Lucia Plaváková, PS media department director Alena Kuišová confirmed to the media.
PM Robert Fico's meeting with President Zelensky
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) confirmed on Thursday (16 January) that they are currently looking for another date for a meeting with President Zelensky. Fico initially proposed to the Ukrainian president a joint meeting on the Slovak territory near the border with Ukraine.
The topic was to be the situation around the transit of natural gas through Ukraine and bilateral relations. In a short statement on the social network X, Zelensky agreed to the meeting and invited Fico to Kyiv on Friday.
Ok. Come to Kyiv on Friday. pic.twitter.com/9lOSLCR7FD
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 13, 2025
(Source: Správy STVR, TASR)
