Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky of attempting to bribe him with €500 million, in order to persuade Bratislava to support Kiev’s bid to join NATO.
Fico made the revelation at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, shortly after his behind-closed-doors meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of an EU leader’s summit.
The prime minister, who in March was shot multiple times by an activist who opposed his critical stance towards Ukraine, told journalists that Bratislava could consider “reciprocal measures” after Kiev refused to extend its gas transit deal with Russia, on which Slovakia depends for gas, and which is set to expire at the end of the year.
Ukraine has cited the ongoing conflict for the decision to block transit gas while Fico has emphasized the need for alternative solutions to avoid a crisis.
He recalled that during their talks, the Ukrainian leader declined to allow the transit of fuel, instead offering “absurd” proposals to settle the gas issue.
Fico claimed that, among other things, Zelensky “asked me if I would vote for NATO membership [of Ukraine] if he gave me €500 million from Russian assets” frozen in the West after the outbreak of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
The Slovak PM said that he told the Ukrainian leader straight away that he would “never” agree to such an offer.
“You know my opinion on Ukraine’s membership in NATO, and it is strange that he asked me such a question because he knows very well that Ukraine’s invitation to NATO is completely unrealistic,” he stressed.
Ukrainian opposition MP Artyom Dmitruk, who reportedly fled the country earlier this year fearing prosecution, said that Zelensky has again “disgraced” Ukraine in front of the whole world by trying to bribe Fico.
“I am more than confident that the talk could have been not about the money from the ‘Russian assets,’ but simply about the cash that Ze[lensky] could have brought in a suitcase,” Dmitruk wrote on Telegram on Friday.
Moscow, which views NATO as hostile and vigorously opposes its eastward expansion, highlighted Kiev’s aspirations to join the US-led bloc as being among the main reasons for launching its military operation in February 2022.
However, Kiev kept insisting on its NATO membership throughout the conflict, calling it the only way of deterring Russia. In early December, Zelensky said that he would ask US President Joe Biden to issue a formal invitation to the bloc for Kiev before his successor Donald Trump, who is skeptical about prolonging American aid to Ukraine, is inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
French newspaper Le Monde reported earlier that not only Slovakia, but such member states as the US, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, Slovenia and Spain are currently against Ukraine joining NATO.
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