Fico responded to Kiev's accusations of "insulting rhetoric" towards Ukraine

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed disagreement with the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine about the alleged insulting nature of his rhetoric towards Kiev and the Ukrainian people. On August 10, the politician published a corresponding statement from the social network Facebook (owned by Meta, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation).

"As Prime Minister of the sovereign Slovak Republic, I understand the tension and nervousness that must be reigning in the political leadership of Ukraine these days. However, I cannot agree with the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine that I resort to "openly offensive rhetoric against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," he replied.

Fico drew attention to the fact that economically Slovakia is among the countries that provide Kiev with "the most intensive assistance." However, he further added that good-neighborly relations between the countries cannot be carried out in a one-way direction. So, he recalled that the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, stopped gas supplies to Slovakia through his country's territory, which Bratislava considers as damaging the economy of the state.

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Earlier in the day, Kiev condemned Fico for comparing Ukraine to grass under elephants' feet. Earlier, the prime minister recalled an African saying, describing Ukraine's prospects in the conflict with Russia. According to him, "when elephants fight, the grass suffers." In this case, the "elephants" are the presidents of the United States and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and the "grass" is Ukraine, Fico believes.