Putin and Fico agree: Ukraine can join EU, but not NATO

Ukraine can join the EU, but not NATO. This is the agreement between Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
– Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO, says Fico.

On Wednesday, China celebrates the victory in the ‘anti-fascist world war’. It has been 80 years since representatives of the Japanese empire formally signed the instruments of surrender aboard the American battleship USS Missouri.

This is being commemorated with a military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Leading a group of visiting dignitaries on Wednesday morning is Chinese President Xi Jinping, flanked by Russia’s and North Korea’s leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.

Further back in the procession are, among others, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Stopping Ukrainian attacks

In recent years, Slovakia has expanded its nuclear power. The country’s fifth nuclear reactor was put into operation in 2023, and a sixth reactor is currently undergoing hot testing. Despite this, Slovakia remains heavily dependent on Russian oil and, above all, gas. A dependence shared with neighboring Hungary.

Repeated Ukrainian attacks on the Russian energy infrastructure, with the explicit purpose of disrupting gas deliveries to EU countries, have made the war an increasingly urgent security issue for the two countries.

A neglectful, bordering on scornful, response from Brussels and Western EU has not helped Slovakia’s and Hungary’s energy situation. And when Robert Fico meets the Russian president in China the day before the military parade, putting a stop to the Ukrainian attacks is at the top of the agenda.

– On Friday, I will meet the President of Ukraine in the city of Uzhhorod (Ukrainian city near the border with Slovakia, ed. note). And I will seriously raise this issue. Because it is not sustainable for such attacks to be directed at infrastructure that is very important to us, says Robert Fico to Putin.

Putin, Xi, and Kim, along with other dignitaries, in Beijing. Photo: Kremlin

Fico also explains that Slovakia opposes the EU’s plan ‘RePowerEU’, which aims to completely stop energy imports from Russia.

No NATO for Ukraine

But putting a stop to Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil and gas pipelines is not the only thing the two heads of government agree on. Fico points out that Ukraine can join the EU, if the country meets the requirements for it, but not NATO.

– I want to emphasize – and I have said from the very beginning – that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO. That is my final decision. But as for EU membership, we are ready to cooperate with Ukraine, he says.

An attitude that Putin says Russia supports.

– When it comes to Ukraine’s membership in the EU, we have never opposed it. When it comes to NATO, it is something else. Here, it is about ensuring the security of the Russian Federation. And not just today or in the medium term, but in the long term. Our position is well known: For us, it is unacceptable, says the Russian president.

The toad in the well

During his conversation with Putin in China, Robert Fico takes the opportunity to compare the EU to a toad.

– Perhaps the media will laugh at this, but I started telling a story to your press secretary about a toad. Sometimes I get the impression that we in the EU are like a toad at the bottom of a well. From the bottom of the well, we do not see how big the world up there is, says Robert Fico.

– The world is something completely different. And sometimes I am very disappointed that the EU, despite my great respect for it, does not react to events in the world, and I do not understand some of the decisions that are made.

Putin later responds to Fico’s analogy when he assures that Russia has no plans to attack the EU.

– I do not want to put you in a difficult, ambiguous situation and engage in criticizing NATO and the European Union. So I do not want to compare them to reptiles or animals, says the Russian president, but dismisses the EU’s fear of Russia as irrational.

He argues that the war in Ukraine has deeper reasons than Russian expansionism.

– For Russia’s part, we were forced to defend our interests and the people whose lives and destinies are so closely linked to the Russian Federation, with Russia, our history, and traditions. That is the essence of the conflict, says Russian President Vladimir Putin.