“We are looking for another date, which should be in the coming days,” Czech outlet iRozhlas quoted Fico.
On Jan. 13, Fico released a video address to Zelenskyy, inviting the Ukrainian president to hold talks in Slovakia, near the Ukrainian border, on halting the transit of Russian gas. Fico claimed it "causes significant harm to Ukraine itself, Slovakia, and, particularly, the European Union." He also stated that he "does not want further escalation of tensions" between Slovakia and Ukraine.
In response, Zelenskyy invited Fico to Kyiv.
“Ok, come to Kyiv on Friday [Jan. 17],” the Ukrainian president wrote in a Twitter post.
According to the deputy speaker of the Slovak Parliament, Fico declined to meet on that day.
The transit contract for Russian gas between Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz expired on Jan. 1, 2025.