Slovak PM Fico skips summit in Ukraine despite plans to attend

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has failed to attend the Carpathian Initiative summit, which is taking place in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast on 18-20 September.

Source: European Pravda, citing its sources

Details: Fico's absence has also been confirmed by a video shared on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official channel.

Slovak media outlets, including Ta3, had reported that Fico was planning to arrive in Ukraine on 18 September. The Slovak prime minister mentioned his intention to travel to Ukraine at a press conference on 17 September, where he also declared that he "does not want war to come to Slovakia because of some Article 5" (NATO's mutual defence clause).

European Pravda sources say Slovakia will be represented at the summit at a lower diplomatic level than the prime minister.

The Carpathian Initiative is a summit being held for the first time at Zelenskyy's initiative, aimed at bringing together all the countries, regions and districts of the Carpathian region. The Ukrainian president said the summit marks the launch of a new format – the Carpathian Eight. In addition to Ukraine, it is intended to include Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Austria, Hungary and the European Union as a whole.

Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.