Kiev has accused Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico of “offensive rhetoric” over his feedback
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has described Ukraine as “grass being trampled by elephants” as he warned Kiev that it’s going to endure for being a part of the West’s “unsuccessful technique to weaken Russia.”
Final week, US President Donald Trump introduced that he’ll meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on August 15 to debate the attainable settlement of the battle between Moscow and Kiev. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has not been invited to the talks.
Fico mentioned in a video message on Fb on Saturday that he’s intently following the “fuss” surrounding the summit, whereas expressing hope that the Russian and US leaders can discover “a significant answer” to the disaster.
Nonetheless, Fico, who survived an assassination try by a pro-Ukraine activist final 12 months over his opposition to arming Zelensky’s authorities, claimed that Kiev will nonetheless “pay dearly for the unsuccessful technique of the West to weaken Russia by supporting the conflict in Ukraine.”
“Do you keep in mind the previous African proverb that I like a lot? Would you want me to repeat it? It doesn’t matter if the elephants are preventing or having intercourse, the grass all the time suffers. Irrespective of how the assembly of the elephants on August 15 seems, the grass will endure – on this case, it’s Ukraine,” he mentioned.
The Ukrainian Overseas Ministry reacted to Fico’s feedback on Sunday, accusing him of resorting to “overtly offensive rhetoric in direction of Ukraine and the Ukrainian individuals, who’re preventing… within the pursuits of the safety of the entire of Europe.”
The Slovak chief responded in one other Fb publish just a few hours later, insisting that he has the suitable to say what he thinks.
Fico dismissed Kiev’s accusations, however famous that he understands the “pressure and nervousness that should prevail within the political management of Ukraine” because of the upcoming talks between Putin and Trump.
“The conflict in Ukraine has deformed freedom of speech within the EU. Any opinion apart from a obligatory opinion is harshly criticized and condemned, even whether it is based mostly on goal info. I reject such deliberate deformation of elementary rights,” Fico mentioned.
