Ukraine slams Slovak PM Fico over “offensive” remarks

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned comments made by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, after he suggested that Ukraine would suffer regardless of the outcome of the upcoming 15 August summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a statement reported by European Pravda, the ministry called it “regrettable that the head of government of a European Union member state allows himself to use openly offensive rhetoric against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, who are heroically fighting Russian aggression every day, holding it back on their own land in the interests of the security of all of Europe.”

Fico had compared Ukraine’s situation to an “old African saying,” remarking, “Whether elephants are fighting or having sex, it’s always the grass that suffers. Regardless of the outcome of the elephants’ negotiations on 15 August, it will be the grass – in this case, Ukraine – that stands to suffer.”

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry criticised the use of such “unfriendly folkloric allegories” and warned against attempts to boost political ratings through rhetoric that it described as “frivolity that insults the memory of the dead, the suffering of millions of Ukrainian families and the sacrifice of those who are fighting for freedom.” The statement also stressed that Fico’s remarks contradict the spirit of good neighbourliness, solidarity and mutual respect shown by the Slovak people towards Ukraine during the ongoing war.

Fico has previously stated that he sees no reason to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming that Zelenskyy “hates” him. He has also argued that adopting a neutral status would be in Slovakia’s best interest in the current international climate.