Home › Politics › What did Kyiv make of Fico's remarks?
What did Kyiv make of Fico's remarks?
Summary
A look back at the diplomatic friction in Central Europe on 11 September 2024, after statements by two neighbours' leaders in the preceding days.
What was the mood between Ukraine and its western neighbours on 11 September 2024? Two disputes from the preceding days set the tone.
On 9 September, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry expressed "disappointment" over assertions by Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. He had said Kyiv should remove "fascist elements" from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As reported at the time, the rhetoric resembled Russian allegations of present-day neo-Nazism in Ukraine's Azov Brigade.
The next day, 10 September, Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk condemned Germany's new land border restrictions. He pointed to Germany's previous lack of support for other European Union nations affected by irregular migration. The dispute was set against the Belarus–European Union border crisis.
The two episodes were separate. One concerned Slovakia's stance towards Ukraine's military. The other was a quarrel between Warsaw and Berlin over migration policy. Together they showed public disagreements between governments in the region as of 11 September 2024.
