Slovakia’s foreign minister has defended a controversial decision to meet his Russian counterpart, after the Czech Republic announced it was suspending intergovernmental consultations with Bratislava amid concerns it is shifting away from western policy on supporting Ukraine.
In a statement emailed to the Guardian on Thursday, Juraj Blanár, who recently met Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Turkey, hit out at “double standards”, noting that some other Nato foreign ministers had also engaged with the Russian minister.
But he also stressed that relations with the Czech Republic “are precious to us”.
The two countries have traditionally enjoyed a special relationship, given their history as part of the former Czechoslovakia, and close economic links.
But the meeting between Blanár and Lavrov has proved to be a step too far for many in Prague, prompting tensions over foreign policy differences to come to the fore.
“There is no disguising that there are differences of opinion on several very important issues. We consider the meeting between the Slovak foreign minister and the Russian foreign minister to be problematic,” the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, said on Wednesday.
“The government therefore does not believe it is appropriate to hold intergovernmental consultations with the government of the Slovak Republic at this time.”
The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, said: “I think friends should be honest with each other and tell each other even difficult stuff.”
In his statement on Thursday, Slovakia’s foreign minister pushed back against the notion that foreign policy differences should affect the relationship between Bratislava and Prague.
“We do not believe that different views on various events abroad should undermine these relations, and the same is true in the case of Ukraine, where we agree on many things … we just may disagree on how to help,” Blanár said.
Slovakia “made it clear that we will no longer supply arms to Ukraine and that we will help Ukraine with humanitarian aid and with demining equipment, which is very important for the lives of Ukrainians, so we will not take any step that could undermine that,” he added.
Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, returned to office in October after campaigning on a platform of ending military assistance to Ukraine and criticising sanctions against Russia.
He has since restated his criticism of western policy and argued that Kyiv and Moscow must compromise.
In a social media post last weekend, Fico said: “I am not convinced of the sincerity of the west to achieve peace in Ukraine. And I will repeat again that the western strategy of using the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia economically, militarily and politically is not working.”
While Slovakia has not blocked aid to Kyiv at the EU level, and Fico has maintained a dialogue with Ukrainian officials, the prime minister’s rhetoric on Ukraine and Russia has sparked worries in some European capitals, including Prague, which is leading an initiative to provide Ukraine with ammunition and is seen as one of Kyiv’s most vocal backers.
“We are worried that Slovakia is on the wrong path,” said one Czech official, who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “We have to work with Slovaks on practical issues of two neighbouring countries but there is no room after Fico’s statements and their foreign minister’s meeting with Lavrov for gestures like holding a joint government session. Not because of but also keeping in mind the time of the EU parliament elections campaign.”
A second Czech official said they were “rather concerned”.
They said: “Fico closely follows opinion polls and knows that over 50% of Slovaks [and the vast majority of his voters] support Russia against Ukraine. What he says is meant for domestic consumption but may cause international disruptions.”
A study last year by the Globsec thinktank found that only 40% of Slovaks said Russia was primarily responsible for the war in Ukraine. Thirty four per cent said it was the “west which provoked Russia”, while 17% said it was primarily the responsibility of “Ukraine which oppressed the Russian-speaking part of the population”.
In explaining the decision to suspend intergovernmental consultations, officials said they valued bilateral ties with their neighbours. Lipavský said: “We are linked with Slovakia not only by a common history, but by a wealth of family, people-to-people and cultural contacts.”
Slovakia’s opposition has also expressed concern about Fico’s positioning. “Slovakia is moving away from the EU in terms of values,” said Lubica Karvasova, a former senior government adviser on European affairs who is running in the European parliament elections on the opposition Progressive Slovakia’s list.
She said: “The current ‘sovereign’ foreign policy of this government is irrelevant and only serves the interests of Russian propaganda. This pulls us into isolation from our closest European partners and allies.
“The Czech Republic is and has always been the closest partner” of Slovakia, and when Prague decided “to take such substantial action, all the red lights must be flashing for every sane person”, she added.
Fico’s allies, however, took a different view. “Well, it’s a bit unpleasant and [I] don’t really understand it,” said Katarína Roth Neveďalová, a member of the European parliament from Fico’s Smer party.
“But our relations go long way back and even this can’t disturb the great relations between our people and countries,” she said in an email.
But experts say the Czech decision has an impact.
“It is a big embarrassment for Fico,” said Milan Nič, a senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “The intergovernmental consultations were a tradition but they were also very practical.”
Fico responded to the Czech decision on Wednesday night with a mix of pragmatism and bravado, accusing Prague of jeopardising relations because it is interested in supporting the war in Ukraine, while Slovakia is talking about peace.
He added: “Dear prime minister Fiala, the Czech government is welcome in Slovakia at any time.”
