Šimečka promised Zelensky our soldiers, Fico claims without evidence. Unnecessary, reacts Šutaj Eštok, although his own should have gone to Kiev

The visit of the chairman of the Progresívne Slovensko (PS) Michal Šimečka and other members of the Slovak delegation to Ukraine, during which they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, provoked a wave of reactions on the Slovak political scene.

Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), Matúš Šutaj Eštok, chairman of the Hlas-SD party, and Andrej Danko, leader of the SNS party, have all expressed their critical views on the situation.

Fico's soldiers in Ukraine

In his Facebook post, the prime minister strongly criticised the foreign policy of the PS delegation and described the meeting with Zelensky as evidence of a "blind and uncritical" attitude towards the Ukrainian side.

According to him, the PS representatives favour Ukrainian interests over Slovak ones.

"The PS representatives somehow forgot to add in their reports from Kiev that they promised President Zelensky support for Ukraine's membership in NATO and the presence of Slovak soldiers on Ukrainian territory as part of the Western armed forces directed against Russia if he seized government power. Both are in stark contradiction to Slovakia's national-state interests," the status reads.

Phone call with Scholz

Fico pointed out that the visit took place against the backdrop of the Ukrainian president's decision to halt gas transit through Ukraine, which he said was causing billions of dollars of damage to Slovakia and the European Union.

The Prime Minister says Slovakia is ready to take reciprocal measures if the change does not take place.

The prime minister also mentioned his phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, where he proposed a meeting with Zelensky during the World Economic Forum in Davos to address the current problems. He described Zelensky's response as a "childish invitation to Kiev".

Šutaj Eštok: A trip Slovakia didn't need

Šutaj Eštok was even more austere about the visit, describing it as a "useless trip".

In his opinion, MPs should pay more attention to the problems of Slovak regions and the everyday life of ordinary people instead of "photos with Zelensky".

Meanwhile, a group of MPs, including members of the Hlas, Ján Ferenčák, Samuel Migaľ, Radomír Šalitroš and Beáta Jurík (PS), postponed their planned trip to Kiev because of the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side informed that it could not guarantee their safety at the moment. They were due to travel there on 14 January.

Statement by Andrej Danko, President of the National Democrats: