Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the next joint intergovernmental meeting between Ukraine and Slovakia will take place in Lviv on 5 November.
The main topics of the talks are expected to be humanitarian aid projects, the reconstruction of border crossing points and the opening of a school for Ukrainian children in Bratislava, SME reports.
At the same time, the Slovak prime minister said that a meeting of the joint economic commission with Russia will be held as early as 25 November, after the authorities agreed with Moscow to revive it following a five-year break. Opposition Slovak politicians and diplomats sharply criticised the Bratislava government’s intention to co-operate simultaneously with the aggressor country and its victim, calling it a loss of touch with reality.
In addition, Fico noted that Bratislava will not block the allocation of another European loan for Kyiv, but Slovakia itself will not act as its guarantor.
A further trigger for criticism of Fico’s government was Bratislava’s refusal to sign the so-called “Toronto Commitment” within the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children Abducted by Russia. Slovakia currently remains the only EU country to have declined full participation in this initiative, limiting itself to observer status only.
- In September, Fico cancelled a planned visit to Ukraine for the Carpathian Eight summit, citing illness.