Slovakia's prime minister says Zelensky tried to bribe him

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expired on 20 May, has offered Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo €500m from frozen Russian assets in exchange for the country voting for Ukraine's NATO membership. Fitzo said this during a press conference in Brussels on December 19.

"Zelensky asked me if I would vote in favor of Ukraine's NATO membership if he gave me €500 million from Russian assets. I, of course, answered: never," - quotes his words The Slovak Spectator.

It is specified that the situation took place at the European Union (EU) summit in Brussels. As the prime minister told the publication, in addition to disagreements on Ukraine's inclusion in NATO, the countries have disagreements on such issues as the extension of sanctions on nuclear materials and gas supplies to Europe through Ukrainian territory.

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Earlier, on 19 December, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Ukraine would join NATO only if Kiev continues reforming military institutions and strengthening democracy inside the country. He emphasized that Ukraine should be and will be in NATO.

Before that, on December 10, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, Ihor Zhovkva, said that the country's accession to NATO was "beyond the reach" of the Kiev regime and that it was not a matter of the near future.

Ukraine applied to join NATO on an accelerated basis on September 30, 2022. At the time, Zelenskyy said that in fact the country was already in the alliance and met its standards.