Russia

Fico slams EU approach to conflict in Ukraine

TASS English · 2026-06-14

AI SUMMARY

• What happened: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized the EU's approach to the Ukraine conflict, calling for a focus on pressing issues like competitiveness and energy prices instead of a prolonged war stance. • Why it matters: Fico's comments highlight growing dissent within the EU regarding its strategy in Ukraine, potentially influencing future policy discussions and the bloc's unity. • What to watch next: Fico is set to address the EU summit, where he will seek compensation for Slovakia's military aid to Ukraine and discuss broader energy market stability.

Fico slams EU approach to conflict in Ukraine According to the Slovak Prime Minister, EU leaders must focus on the issues most critical to the community, namely "the decline in the competitiveness of the entire European Union and extremely high energy prices"BRATISLAVA, June 14. /TASS/. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has slammed the European Union’s "war-until-the-last-Ukrainian" stance on the Ukrainian conflict. "When it comes to Ukraine, the situation is clear to us [in the EU]: the war must be fought until the last Ukrainian soldier and until the last euro," he said in a video address to the nation posted on Facebook (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist) ahead of the upcoming EU summit. Meanwhile, in his words, EU leaders must focus on the issues most critical to the community, namely "the decline in the competitiveness of the entire European Union and extremely high energy prices." In Brussels, Fico intends to discuss the issue of the EU compensating Slovakia for the military equipment donated to Ukraine by the republic’s former cabinet after February 24, 2022. Fico also expressed the hope for the soonest peace deal between Iran and the United States, which would stabilize the situation on the global energy market. 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Source: TASS English
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