A delegation of ALDE Party member Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia) travelled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other members of the government and the Verkhovna Rada.
The five-strong group, including party leader Michal Šimečka and ALDE Party Vice-President Lucia Plaváková, aimed to express the wishes of the Slovak public and repair the relationship between the two countries broken by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
After Ukraine stopped the flow of Russian gas through its own territory on 1 January, Fico threatened to halt Slovakia’s humanitarian aid and emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if Ukraine does not resume gas flows, blaming President Zelenskyy for a deal which has failed to materialise.
"Our negotiations showed that the agreement was scuppered by Robert Fico himself with his trip to Moscow. However, President Zelenskyy has confirmed that Ukraine is ready to negotiate and reach an agreement with Slovakia. I call on Fico to stop attacking our partner and start negotiating," said Šimečka.
"Our trip was also about contributing to the improvement of relations and creating the conditions for economic opportunities for our companies. Today, the government, with its hostile attitude towards Ukraine, is depriving our citizens, eastern regions and Slovak companies of participation in the reconstruction of Ukraine," added Ivan Korčok, member of the delegation and of the party's board.
Beata Jurík, vice chair of the Slovak Parliament's European Affairs Committee, recalled that the Committee’s Vice-Presidents Andrej Danko and Tibor Gašpar shook hands with war criminals on a trip to Moscow.
"We visited the Ochmatdyt children's hospital bombed by the Russians. I am happy that we have been able to reassure Ukraine in many negotiations that Slovakia is not Robert Fico. Many of us - thousands of people on the streets of cities in Slovakia, volunteers and others - still have that humanity," concluded Jurík.